THE Kelantan government continues to be on the defensive about talk that it was slow to act when faced with the worst floods to hit the nation in December 2014.

Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said it was unfair to criticise the state government as last year’s floods were extraordinary.

He said contrary to what was reported, there is a Flood Task Force which begins its monitoring five months before the rainy season.

However, he admitted that a shortage of manpower hampered the flood relief effort, noting for instance that the State Environment Department has only 50 employees to cover over 5,800 sq miles (15,022 sq km).

Nik Mohd Amar also denied that indiscriminate logging had contributed to the floods.

“As far as logging is concerned, we in Kelantan follow the guidelines set by the Forestry Department. Not more than 5,600ha per year,” he said.

But Nik Mohd Amar conceded that cross-border issues with Pahang were likely to affect Kelantan too.

“In Cameron Highlands, they encroach into Lojing. Enforcement should be heightened,” he said, calling for stricter controls on farming. On its part, he said, Kelantan had terminated a number of farming permits as the farmers did not comply with environmental guidelines.

Nik Mohd Amar said that one of the immediate decisions taken by the state after the floods was not to approve any development near river banks. However, he admitted that implementing this decision may prove to be difficult as not all riverbank dwellers are squatters who could be relocated.

“Manek Urai (district) is a big problem because it is close to the river yet it was given land titles,” he said. Temporary occupational licences, however, will be revoked.

“We have already done it in Gua Musang. This will be a new state policy,” he said.

Nik Mohd Amar also said red tape played a role in the slow response to the disaster.

“Our problem in Kelantan is that the State National Security Council is not under the menteri besar as it is a federal agency.

“We cannot declare a state of emergency. That is the prime minister’s prerogative... but I agree that we don’t have to declare emergency for flood relief operations to be upscaled.

“Declaration of emergency is meant to control the movement of people. For example, when there is haze, we can declare emergency to close schools and keep people indoors, but when floods occur, what is there to control? Houses are under water and people are being evacuated anyway,” he said.

He also blamed other agencies for their lack of preparedness.

“The Meteorological Department and other agencies did not indicate to us that it was going to be this bad.

“There should be a review of the SOP (standard operating procedure), and also to identify new flood relief and evacuation centres in preparing for this year’s monsoon.

“Look at Manek Urai, for instance. All they had was that school on a hill, and even that school was hit.”

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 2, 2015.