SHAH ALAM, Jan 1 — Selangor’s flood mitigation efforts have reduced the impact of heavy rain, with recent flash floods causing significantly less damage than the devastating 2021 deluge.
Selangor menteri besar’s press secretary Jay Jay Denis said although flood management isn’t flawless, better preparedness and infrastructure upgrades have cushioned the impact and allowed the state to respond more effectively.
He said despite facing a tropical storm for the first time in decades, damage in flood-prone areas such as Taman Sri Muda here was minimal, especially compared with the effects in Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.
“This time around, you didn’t see many issues. It’s not perfect; there were still flash floods, but the damage was far lower compared with four years ago,” he said, referring to the December 2021 floods that affected most of the peninsula.
“This, to a large extent, is due to the flood mitigation projects,” he said during Media Selangor’s ‘Lunch on Us!’ programme, which aired on Monday.
Jay Jay said a key challenge the state continues to face is poor connectivity between drainage systems in housing areas with those overseen by local councils and the state, as well as river networks.
“We have now taken this into account and are developing a new water management plan … to better manage excess water flow from drains and its eventual discharge into the sea.”
Jay Jay said extensive dredging has been carried out in Sungai Klang to increase its capacity by about 35 per cent, which has shown positive impact in areas such as Sungai Damansara.
However, he said, rising sea levels and tidal patterns pose more challenges for the coastal districts of Sabak Bernam, Kuala Selangor, Klang, and Kuala Langat.
To address this, the state has sought international expertise, especially from countries with experience in managing floods like Japan and the Netherlands, he added.
“This has a lot to do with connectivity, town planning, the use of brownfield and greenfield areas, and ensuring enough run-off and absorption zones for water. We also need to continue maintaining at least 30 per cent of our land as forest reserves,” Jay Jay said.
According to state executive councillor for infrastructure and agriculture Dato’ Izham Hashim, as of November, 34 flood mitigation projects worth RM241.6 million have been completed across several districts in Selangor.
Meanwhile, 39 flood mitigation projects worth RM383.35 million funded by the Selangor government are at various stages of implementation, while another 18 projects under the federal government are also being carried out, involving an allocation of RM3.462 billion.
Asked about additional funding for flood mitigation and other large-scale infrastructure projects, Jay Jay said the state’s capacity is constrained, so it is looking to diversify its revenue sources and reduce heavy reliance on land premiums, which currently account for about 70 per cent of state income, with the aim of increasing its reserves to RM5 billion.
“Once we can diversify our (revenue), I think then we will have greater flexibility to plan and allocate funds for bigger projects, which we are doing right now, but not to the level we want,” Jay Jay said.
