(Translated from Bahasa Malaysia)

SHAH ALAM: Selangor will have a more efficient and systematic way of dealing with the threat of natural disasters by 2022.

Menteri Besar, Amirudin Shari, said the state was also among the earliest states that would be able to detect any catastrophic events such as floods and landslides that would occur.

He said, in terms of management as well, his party will have a more sophisticated and effective way to deal with the problem and how to overcome it.

He said, this will be obtained after the study of Strengthening Community Safety and Security by Understanding Disaster Risk and Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (SEDAR) conducted between the state government and several agencies including from abroad, namely Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), International Research Institute of Disaster Science and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UTM), completed.

“Currently, the cooperation has been going on for about 17 months and it involves several areas to be studied, including Hulu Langat, Kapar and Klang which it involves the issue of landslides such as what happened to orphanages in Hulu langat in 2011, while Kapar and Klang always face the problem of floods”, he said at a press conference, here, today:

Amirudin said, in the cooperation started in March 2018, it also studied the weaknesses of management in disaster issues besides discussing the application of Japanese technology to the state.

He said, his party also recommended that aspects of staff strength in facing disasters be studied.

He said, as of the initial report received today, three things can be summarized to realize the goals of the study, namely more efficient data collection, disaster maps and communication flow during disasters.

“This study will focus on data collection such as rainfall distribution and soil movement to enable early warning systems for disasters such as flash floods and landslides.

“For example, in Japan, telephone ringing will be used as a sign of disaster and this is a communication formed to inform its people.

“The same goes for disaster mapping. We will identify the roads that can be used, and various other ways will be taken for the safety of the people, “he said.

Amirudin said, through a complete study on the matter, the Selangor government will have a way to detect disasters earlier and this will allow all parties to make initial preparations.