RANTAU PANJANG: Villagers living in several areas along the Golok river are hoping that the construction of Phase One of the Sungai Golok Integrated River Basin Development (PLSB) project will prevent serious flooding when the northeast monsoon season starts.
Many of them, especially those living in Kampung Tersang and Kampung Lanchang hope their homes would not be flooded.
Odd-job worker Mohd Nor Deraman said he was informed that Phase One of the PLSB was completed recently but the other two phases have yet to start.
"We are happy that the first phase of the project has been completed and hopefully, it will solve our problems a little bit.
"But after hearing that the northeast monsoon season will be coming soon, we have begun to worry again and fear that the flood waters will hit our village," said the 58-year-old.
Another villager Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mamat, 63, said many residents living along the river have started to prepare for the coming rainy season.
"We appreciate the Federal government's efforts in implementing the PLSB project, aimed at solving the flood woes in Rantau Panjang and its surrounding areas.
"But we still need to be on alert of any eventuality of a serious flood following the latest weather forecast," he added.
On Aug 1, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the appointment of contractors for Phase Two and Phase Three of the PLSB project were expected to be made this month.
He said Phase Two and Phase Three of the PLSB project were the government's long-term plans to build flood protection infrastructure for the Golok River basin area.
Phase Two of the PLSB project would focus on areas along Sungai Golok, particularly Rantau Panjang and settlement areas on the left side of Sungai Lanchang Lemal, while Phase Three would complete the entire flood mitigation system for the Sungai Golok basin.
Nik Nazmi said overall, the implementation of Phases One, Two, and Three of the Sungai Golok PLSB project involved an allocation amounting to over RM2 billion and was expected to be able to protect 31,000 residents as well as an area of 66,000 hectares from flooding.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) recently issued a warning saying that the northeast monsoon is expecting four to six episodes of heavy rainfall from today until March next year.
In a statement, it said heavy rainfall episodes were expected in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor and western Sarawak from this month until January next year.
It also said from that February to March 2024, it is expected that the northern regions of the peninsula (Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu), Sabah, Labuan, and northern Sarawak will experience reduced rainfall.