GEORGE TOWN: Two Pakatan Harapan lawmakers have urged the state government to put on hold unapproved new development projects to address flash floods woes.
DAP Berapit assemblyman Ong Kok Fooi said there was a need to relook into the overall flood mitigation plan that has proven to be flawed and offered no respite in sight.
She also asked if the administration was ready to respond and act, especially in her constituency that saw hundreds of residents suffering from losses due to floods on Sunday.
"My constituency is prone to landslides and flash floods. People face much hardship when waters swept past their neighborhood.
"There must be an emergency response team in place to help the needy," she said in a debate of the state's 2017 Budget in the evening session of the state legislative assembly sitting.
"There is nothing much the state government can do with ongoing developments but all new projects must be stopped by suspending new applications," Ong said.
Meanwhile, PKR Penanti assemblyman Dr Norela Ariffin said the state government had not fully utilised a 42 per cent increase in the allocation for Public Works Department in the state's budget.
"My constituency is not spared from floods and it was badly hit recently.
"The state government should make use of extra allocation to mitigate recurring floods at residential areas under my watch." she said.
Norela also proposed to the sitting that heavy vehicles such as trailers be barred from entering public roads near major construction sites in the flood prone Sungai Lembu area.
