Malaysia’s worst flooding in decades forced more than 100,000 people to flee as Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak came under fire after photographs showed him golfing with US President Barack Obama while storms hit his country.
Razak said yesterday he was cutting short his US vacation to deal with the situation.
At least five people have been killed by the rising waters and there appeared little respite on the way, with forecasters predicting further heavy rainfall across previously unaffected southern parts of the country.
Photo: AFP
As local media carried photographs of people wading through flood waters as deep as 2m and entire houses submerged by rising water, the government faced criticism for not declaring a state of emergency to help devastated communities.
Seasonal flooding hits Malaysia every year and regularly forces tens of thousands from their homes, but the latest round has forced authorities to evacuate more than 100,000, mostly in the northeast, the Bernama news agency reported.
Among the dead was a man who drowned at a relief center on Wednesday, while a rescue boat carrying eight people including a young couple went missing after it became trapped in a whirlpool and capsized, the news agency said.
Rising floodwater has rendered several roads unusable and authorities have suspended train services in some of the worst-affected areas. Communications have also been badly hit by the storms.
In a rare piece of positive news, about 100 tourists who were stranded in a remote resort in central Malaysia’s Mutiara Taman Negara Resort were rescued and sent to a relief center.
Najib called on rescue workers desperately trying to reach flood victims to step up their efforts to deliver food and water.
However, Najib came under fire when photographs emerged of the premier playing golf with Obama in Hawaii, with Malaysians questioning why he was not at home to deal with the crisis in posts on his Facebook page.
Critics have also charged his government with failing to respond quickly enough, with some lambasting the authorities for not declaring a state of emergency in the most-seriously affected regions.
“The PM needs time to take a break,” Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
“He has been working very hard, so let’s be fair to him as a human being. Don’t worry, I’m in charge,” Yassin added.
Additional reporting by AP
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