Zahid: Govt on alert, ramps up readiness as El Nino raises monsoon flood risks

BAGAN DATUK, Nov 1 — The government and all relevant agencies are fully prepared to face the North-east Monsoon (MTL), which is expected to have a more severe impact than in previous years.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the state of preparedness involved comprehensive coordination between the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and disaster management committees at state and district levels, following the launch of National Preparedness Month 2026 in Ipoh last month.

“This year’s North-east Monsoon is expected to have a more severe impact than in previous years, following an El Nino episode that affected many countries, particularly in Asean.

“Nadma, in collaboration with all enforcement agencies, has identified hotspots where unusually heavy rainfall is expected,” he told a press conference after attending the ‘2026 Deepavali Santunan Kasih’ event at the Bagan Datuk Umno Hall here today.

Asked whether certain states would be the main focus during the monsoon season, Ahmad Zahid said Kelantan, Terengganu, the northern states, particularly Kedah, as well as southern states comprising Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan were frequently affected by the North-east Monsoon.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also National Disaster Management Committee chairman, said responsibilities had been assigned to rescue agencies, while the Social Welfare Department (JKM) was prepared with stockpiles of food aid and fully equipped evacuation tents, with additional support from non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

On Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates who would be sitting for their examinations during the monsoon season, he assured that the welfare of the students and the smooth conduct of their examinations remained a priority for the government.

He said he had discussed the matter with Education Minister Datuk Seri Fadhlina Sidek at a recent Cabinet meeting, with contingency plans being drawn up to accommodate affected students at school hostels.

“She (Fadhlina) informed me that students in areas expected to experience severe flooding had been identified and would be relocated to schools with hostels, where they would sit for their examinations. The Examinations Board is also fully prepared for this,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said improvements to the Bantuan Wang Ihsan (BWI) compassionate aid scheme, introduced last year, would continue, with RM1,000 in aid channelled directly to each family while they were at temporary relief centres.

He said the measure would enable flood victims to use the assistance immediately upon returning home to clean their houses and replace damaged household items, provided they had officially relocated to a relief centre, to prevent leakages.

He said flood victims previously had to wait two weeks and visit a bank to collect the assistance, but under the new arrangement, the RM1,000 would be handed to them directly once they were at the relief centres.

“However, those who do not relocate, even if their names are on the list, will not receive the assistance.

“They must move to a relief centre to ensure the funds are not misappropriated or channelled to other parties,” he said.

At the event, Ahmad Zahid also presented Deepavali essential supplies to 2,000 B40 households across the Bagan Datuk parliamentary constituency, as well as RM100 each in year-end educational assistance to 700 pupils from Tamil National-type Schools (SJKT), involving a total allocation of RM70,000.

He also presented Smartboard TVs to all 16 SJKTs in the constituency to support digital learning facilities.

In addition, Ahmad Zahid presented educational assistance of RM3,000 to each of the 12 kindergartens serving the Indian community in Bagan Datuk, involving a total allocation of RM36,000. — Bernama

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峇眼拿督，11月1日讯——政府和所有相关机构已做好充分准备应对东北季风，预计今年的东北季风将比往年造成更严重的后果。

副首相拿督斯里阿末扎希哈米迪博士表示，备灾工作需要国家灾害管理机构（Nadma）与州和地区各级灾害管理委员会进行全面协调。此前，上个月在怡保启动了2026年全国防灾准备月活动。

“受厄尔尼诺现象影响，今年东北季风预计将比往年造成更严重的冲击，厄尔尼诺现象影响了许多国家，特别是东盟国家。

“国家灾害管理署（Nadma）与所有执法机构合作，已经确定了预计会出现异常强降雨的热点地区，”他在今天出席了在峇眼拿督巫统礼堂举行的“2026年屠妖节关爱活动”后举行的新闻发布会上说。

当被问及季风季节期间某些州属是否会成为重点关注对象时，艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，吉兰丹州、登嘉楼州、北部各州（特别是吉打州）以及包括柔佛州、马六甲州和森美兰州在内的南部各州经常受到东北季风的影响。

国家灾害管理委员会主席艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，救援机构已承担起责任，社会福利部 (JKM) 也已准备好大量食品援助和设备齐全的疏散帐篷，并得到了非政府组织 (NGO) 的额外支持。

对于将在雨季参加马来西亚教育文凭考试（SPM）的考生，他保证，学生的福利和考试的顺利进行仍然是政府的首要任务。

他表示，他已在最近的一次内阁会议上与教育部长拿督斯里法德利娜·西迪克讨论了此事，并制定了应急计划，以安置受影响的学生入住学校宿舍。

他说：“法德琳娜告诉我，预计会遭受严重洪灾地区的学生已被确定，并将被安置到设有宿舍的学校参加考试。考试委员会也已为此做好了充分准备。”

与此同时，艾哈迈德·扎希德表示，去年推出的“援助金”（BWI）计划将继续改进，每个家庭在临时救济中心期间将直接获得 1000 令吉的援助金。

他表示，这项措施将使洪水灾民能够在返回家园后立即获得援助，用于清理房屋和更换受损的家居用品，前提是他们已正式搬迁到救济中心，以防止漏水。

他说，以前洪水灾民必须等待两周并前往银行领取援助金，但在新安排下，他们到达救济中心后将直接获得 1000 令吉。

“但是，即使名字在名单上，那些不搬迁的人也不会得到援助。

他说：“他们必须转移到救济中心，以确保资金不会被挪用或转移到其他方面。”

在活动中，艾哈迈德·扎希德还向巴甘达图国会选区的 2000 户 B40 低收入家庭赠送了屠妖节必需品，并向淡米尔国民型学校 (SJKT) 的 700 名学生每人提供了 100 令吉的年终教育援助，总拨款为 70000 令吉。

他还向选区内所有 16 所华小赠送了智能白板电视，以支持数字化学习设施。

此外，艾哈迈德·扎希德还向峇眼拿督12所服务于印度社群的幼儿园各捐赠了3000令吉的教育援助金，总计拨款36000令吉。——马新社

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