All PPS sheltering flood victims will be automatically gazetted - Ahmad Zahid

PASIR PUTEH: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has directed all temporary flood relief centres (PPS) throughout the country to be gazetted automatically and function as full-fledged PPS.

Ahmad Zahid who is also the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) chairman said the agency has been directed to gazette all PPS where flood victims are sheltered.

"I have directed NADMA to automatically gazette all PPS where flood victims are staying. Once gazetted all assistance must be channelled to the PPS to avoid bureaucracy since only PPS that are gazetted can receive assistance," he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister was speaking to reporters after a briefing about the flood situation in Pasir Puteh by Pasir Puteh district officer Ahmad Adlee Yasin at Sekolah Kebangsaan Jelor, Pasir Puteh, here today.

Also present was Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob.

Ahmad Zahid who is also the Minister of Rural and Regional Development said NADMA has decided that all gazetted PPS throughout the country will have their own multi-purpose hall to serve as a permanent flood relief centre during floods.

"NADMA through the alllocation that I will receive, will be used to set up PPS in flood prone areas. There are two choices, first we can choose schools that are regularly used as PPS during floods to build a permanent hall that can double up as PPS.

"The hall can be used by the school for other purposes when there are no floods. This is a proactive measure and can benefit in the long run. For PPS that are not in schools, the state government can discuss the proposal with the Land and Mines office to identify land that can be suitable for setting up a hall," he said.

"God Willing (Insya-Allah) the Federal Government will allocate funds to build permanent PPS," he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said based on MetMalaysia's forecast, NADMA will advise people from such locations identified, to shift three days earlier.

-- BERNAMA