PM to check on flood situation in Kelantan tomorrow

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will visit Kelantan tomorrow to personally check on the flood situation currently affecting the state.

Anwar shared this information through a Facebook post following his meeting with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin, in Phuket yesterday.

"We also discussed the current flood situation, and Insya-Allah, I will go to Kelantan tomorrow to personally assess the increasingly worrying situation there. May Allah lift this disaster soon," he said.

The Kelantan State Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) secretariat today announced that the number of flood victims in the state has increased to 17,466 individuals from 5,510 families as of 8 am, compared to 15,994 victims from 4,967 families recorded last night.

All the victims in the eight flood-hit districts, namely Pasir Mas, Tanah Merah, Jeli, Gua Musang, Kuala Krai, Machang, Pasir Puteh, and Kota Bharu, are currently taking shelter in 89 temporary relief centres.

Meanwhile, Anwar said that during his informal meeting with Srettha, they also discussed several important matters, including issues related to tourism in Malaysia and Thailand.

"PM Srettha expressed Thailand's readiness to jointly promote tourism in Phuket, Langkawi, and other areas in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, given the sudden increase in the number of Malaysian tourist arrivals to Thailand.

"In addition, both of us also agreed to expedite the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam Road Project and the Sungai Golok-Rantau Panjang Bridge Project," he said.

Anwar said that he and Srettha also agreed to work closely together to develop the southern region of Thailand and the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia more rapidly, thereby ensuring economic overflow and prosperity for the people in both regions.

He added that the special highest-level committee between the two countries needs to report on the progress of projects and agreed-upon matters by the middle of next month.

-- BERNAMA