PETALING JAYA: Malaysian authorities will meet their Singaporean counterparts next month to review the emergency response plan for Johor’s Linggiu dam, following concerns over dam safety after the flash floods in Nepal.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said a joint technical working group, co-led by Malaysia’s energy transition and water transformation ministry and Singapore’s sustainability and environment ministry, would meet on Nov 5 to review the dam’s emergency response plan.
Fadillah, who is also the energy transition and water transformation minister, said the Linggiu dam was fully managed, maintained and monitored by Singapore’s Public Utilities Board under the 1962 Johor River Water Agreement and its 1990 supplementary agreement.
He said that despite Singapore’s operational oversight, Malaysia, as the owner of the dam, must comply with the Dam Safety Management Guidelines which require comprehensive, regularly updated emergency action plans.
Fadillah said that under the national disaster framework, the National Disaster Management Agency is responsible for coordinating emergency responses, public notifications and community evacuations during structural or hydrological emergencies.
"What is more important for us right now is focussing on preventive measures. Executing them will reduce the risk of disaster," he said, adding that his ministry is prioritising upgrades to automated sirens and multi-channel mobile alert systems.
Severe flash floods hit northern Nepal on Sunday, sweeping away buildings and bridges along the Budhi Gandaki River. The torrent came just weeks after a deadly flood along the Nepal-Tibet border killed over a thousand people.