Hamdan Raja Abdullah The Star 20 Feb 11;
PAGOH: Floods in the last several years damaged public and private properties worth billions of ringgit, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
He said the cost of repairing and upgrading damaged public infrastructure alone was estimated at nearly RM200mil.
“The Cabinet last week approved an immediate allocation of RM50mil to repair some of the roads damaged by the recent floods.
“At the same time, it has directed the Works Ministry to look into raising the level of stretches of roads which are regularly cut off by floods,” he said after receiving aid from 27 companies for flood victims in Pagoh yesterday.
Muhyiddin said the Cabinet would also look into ways to finance a flood mitigation project along the Muar River to mitigate floods in Muar and Segamat.
He said the Finance Minister would look into the appropriate financing schemes to implement the project which was expected to cost RM1bil.
He said he was informed by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas that the plan and design for the project were ready and the first phase could go ahead.
Muhyiddin added that the Drainage and Irrigation Department had drawn a detailed plan to deepen and straighten the river, including along the upper reaches in Segamat.
He said the department also planned to build several small dams to control water flow during flood seasons.
He said although the proposed project would be costly, it was still viable as the damage caused by floods in the long term would be much higher.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, said he was grateful to caring companies, organisations, associations and volunteers for sacrificing money, time and energy to help in the rescue and relief operations in the area.
Malaysian Government To Speed Up Deepening Of Muar River To Check Floods
Bernama 19 Feb 11;
MUAR, Feb 19 (Bernama) -- The government is to expedite a project to deepen and straighten the Muar River to reduce the occurrence of floods in Muar and Pagoh, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Saturday.
He said the project, which was expected to cost more than RM1 billion, was awaiting funds from the Finance Ministry.
"The Finance Ministry is looking at the best way to fund the project," he told reporters after receiving contributions from several companies for distribution to flood victims in his parliamentary constituency of Pagoh.
He said he was informed by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas that the plan and design for the Muar River flood mitigation project were ready and the first phase could go ahead.
Pagoh is one of the areas in Johor worst affected by floods recently, resulting in 15,036 people evacuated to 43 relief centres.
Muhyiddin said several interested parties had submitted proposals on the funding of the project and the Finance Ministry would study them and make a decision.
He also said he had been informed that the total cost of flood mitigation in Johor would come up to RM4 billion.
Muhyiddin said flood mitigation projects had to be speeded up because the flood-caused damage borne by the government and the people ran into billions of ringgit.
He said the Works Ministry required RM189 million to upgrade roads as well as repair roads damaged and washed away by the recent floods.
The Cabinet had approved a preliminary allocation of RM50 million to the ministry, he added.
Muhyiddin said efforts to enable flood victims return to normal life were also important and asked financial institutions to make it easier for them to repay their loans.
Bank Negara could instruct the financial institutions to restructure the loans, he added.
-- BERNAMA
