Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar (pic) was candid when he said the recent flood that ravaged the east coast states of the peninsula had woefully exposed the weaknesses and inadequacies of rescue agencies in handling flood.He said agencies under the Home Ministry that were tasked with rescue effort – the police, Civil Defence Department (JPAM) and Rela – did not have a fall back plan and were ill equipped to handle the flood.To address the inadequacy of equipment, Wan Junaidi said he had since ordered all rescue agencies under the ministry to review their asset list and draw up their wish list on what they now needed to handle future disasters better.“We are now currently identifying and reevaluating our needs and drawing up a list for recommendations to the government.“The major complaints that I get when visiting flood hit states were that they do not have the appropriate equipment and what they have right now were inadequate," he said after attending a briefing by police in Kuching on the current flood situation in Sarawak.One of the example, he said were police boats that could not handle the swift flowing Sg Kelantan even with a 40hp engine.He said the boats were simply “swept away" by the current and instead of being used to evacuate people to safety, they had become a danger to the rescuers themselves.One piece of equipment Wan Junaidi suggested rescue agencies should consider was helicopters.“They would give better service, to not only conduct rescue operations but also conduct supply (flights) and do deliveries of essentials like food and medicine."The severity of the flood in the peninsula had not only taken the home ministry rescue agencies by surprise. It had practically trashed the plans they currently had, he said.“The flood could fairly be forecast as to when it would happen. Only to what degree of seriousness is something that we can't predict."That, he added was the reason why lessons learnt from the recent floods had to be evaluated and a new Standard Operating Procedure drawn up to ensure a more efficient handling of disasters.“We need to reevaluate the current SOP and the (new) SOP could be applied for use in other disasters and emergency situations."Wan Junaidi said one of the shortcomings was that no one had thought of identifying sites where helicopters could land or alternative relief centres when the ones identified were flooded.He said he had since instructed police in all states to identify areas which could be used as landing pads for their helicopters.Meanwhile, Wan Junaidi also disclosed the home ministry and all its agencies have now gone on a “thrifty drive" to cut costs and use the saved money to help meet their flood repair costs.He said police in Kelantan estimated their loss at around RM15 million.“That's a conservative estimate."Losses include damage to infrastructure like police stations and assets like firearms, vehicles, furniture and other office fittings.Wan Junaidi said many police personnel have lost all their uniform in the flood and they needed to be replaced so they could report back for duty. – January 23, 2015.
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