PASIR MAS – The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) will take extra care in terms of food preparation for flood victims at temporary relief centres to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, says its director-general Datuk Dr Aminuddin Hassim.
He said it was difficult for suppliers to send food to relief centres in the interiors, so a centralised kitchen concept was being planned to prepare and distribute the food aid.
“There, the food will be cooked in a ‘gotong-royong’ manner before being packed and sent to the relief centres. With this method, we will be able to send the food to the affected victims faster, and it’s safer as well,” he told reporters after inspecting the relief centre at SK Gual Tinggi here, today.
Commenting further, Dr Aminuddin said as of now, 25 per cent of the food kits had been used, and the remainder will be used during the third wave of floods expected to begin Dec 27.
He said although Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin expressed his satisfaction with the standard operating procedures (SOP) currently in use by NADMA, the agency would strive to do better.
Muhyiddin had visited flood evacuees taking shelter at a temporary relief centre in Kelantan.
The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) helicopter ferrying the Prime Minister landed at the Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Gual Tinggi field, here at about 10 am from the Gong Kedak air base, Pasir Puteh.
On hand to welcome him were Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob and his deputy Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah as well as Kelantan police chief Datuk Shafien Mamat.
Muhyiddin was given a 20-minute briefing on the flood situation by Pasir Mas district officer Pasir Mas Nik Mohamed Noor Nik Ishak.
He then spent some time mingling with flood victims comprising 154 people from 59 families housed at the relief centre and presented aid in the form of food supply to them.
About an hour later, Muhyiddin left for Terengganu to visit flood victims at SK Bukit Mentok, Kemaman.
He arrived at the PPS at 1.20 pm and was given a briefing on the current flood situation in Terengganu.
Muhyiddin, accompanied by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar later spent about one hour visiting the flood evacuees taking shelter at the PPS and presented kits consisting of basic necessities to them.
The visit was his first after being appointed as the Prime Minister on Feb 29.
The evacuation centre at SK Bukit Mentok was opened last Saturday to house 669 people from 166 families but at the time of writing, only 483 evacuees from 140 families were still at the PPS.
As of 2 pm today, the number of flood victims in Kemaman and Dungun stood at 999 people involving 257 families.
