No need for commission; technical departments can investigate Baling floods - Takiyuddin

BALING: There is no need to set up a public Commission of Inquiry to identify the cause of the floods and water surge phenomenon that have affected several villages in the district on Monday, said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.

He said various relevant technical departments are investigating, and will find the cause of the tragedy.

"I believe that the relevant departments are conducting an investigation in the area. If it is related to vegetation replanting, it is under the Forestry Department. We leave this to those departments to investigate.

"Hence, there is no need for a RCI (Royal Commission of Inquiry) and so on; our department also has its own capabilities and expertise," he said in a press conference, after visiting three temporary evacuation centres and visiting flood-affected areas today.

He was asked to comment on the proposal by the non-governmental organisation, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), for the Kedah government to set up a public Commission of Inquiry to identify the cause of the flood tragedy in Baling on Monday and in Gunung Jerai, Yan, which occurred last year.

Takiyuddin said his ministry expected the investigation into the incident in Baling to be completed in the near future as it did not involve a large area.

He said the Department of Minerals and Geosciences (JMG), together with the Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia (JUPEM), would conduct an investigation and recommend appropriate action.

"Similar to what we did in Gunung Jerai, JMG does a lot of investigations related to the strengthening of risky slope areas, and many technical suggestions will be given by JMG to other departments, including the Public Works Department and so on," he said.

Meanwhile, Takiyuddin also refuted claims that the relevant departments were slow to identify areas at risk before the tragedy occurred.

He said that the government and relevant departments gave priority and took action in areas that had been identified as high risk for disasters.

"This area, for example, for 70 years to 100 years no such incident occurred; only small floods perhaps but never severe disasters. Hence, when it occurred we take action to prevent it from recurring," he said.

He added that the Gunung Inas was also not listed as an area at risk of disaster before Monday's tragedy.

-- BERNAMA