Malaysia election 2022: thousands evacuated as monsoon-season flash floods affect campaigns
- Floods have sparked renewed criticism of the decision by the government to call an early election on November 19 during the monsoon season
- Malaysia’s meteorological department warned there will be thunderstorms and continuous rains until November 17, two days before the polls
Malaysia has been hit by flash floods in various parts of the country days after the monsoon season began this week, prompting authorities to relocate more than 1,800 people to relief centres, Bernama reported.
Kedah, Penang and Malacca were the latest states to be affected after Selangor – the nation’s richest and most industrialised – Kelantan and Johor, the news agency said, citing the National Disaster Management Agency.
This week’s floods and heavy rain warnings in Selangor forced some candidates contesting Malaysia’s general election due next Saturday to halt their campaigning events to attend to flood victims, local media reported.
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The floods have also sparked renewed criticism of the decision by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yakoob’s government to call an early election on November 19 during the monsoon season, even though the vote was scheduled for September 2023. Last year’s floods – the nation’s worst in decades – left dozens dead, displaced more than 61,000 people and caused an estimated 6.1 billion ringgit (US$1.3 billion) in losses.
Ismail vowed the government would prepare for the worst weather-wise. More than 6,000 temporary shelters would be set up nationwide, enough to house over a million people, he said in a Facebook post in September after chairing a meeting with the natural disaster management committee. On Thursday, he directed agencies including the disaster management agency, Fire and Rescue Department and the armed forces to assist in the evacuation of flood victims, according to Bernama.
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Malaysia’s meteorological department has warned that there will be thunderstorms and continuous rains until November 17. Floods in the Southeast Asian country have become an annual phenomenon, triggered by the north-east monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.
