Liew had yesterday criticised the Sabah government for the delay in implementing the RM70 million flood mitigation projects in the Kota Belud district.
The Sabah PKR chairman had also criticised three top Sabah Umno leaders – Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Rahman Dahlan, Communications and Multimedia Minister Salleh Said Keruak and Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia – for their absence during the latest flood emergency.
Rahman is the Kota Belud MP, Salleh is the Usukan assemblyman and Pandikar is from Kota Belud.
“Top national leaders like Datuk Salleh and Datuk Rahman have good machineries (at their disposal) that not everyone else would have to help the people,” Rahim told FMT.
“Although they were not physically present at the flood scene, national leaders like them can mobilise a lot of resources not just during the flood but also during normal times that the opposition usually misses.
“After all, they are directly responsible for their constituencies as elected representatives. It’s their job to look after the welfare of their people during and also outside of flood times.”
Rahim also urged all parties, including the opposition, to work together during disasters instead of pointing fingers.
“Natural disasters like the floods are something that must be tackled by all parties concerned because they cannot be solved by simply accusing or putting blame on other political parties,” Rahim said.
“Even states led by the opposition, such as Selangor and Penang, had to rely on government assistance during the recent massive floods, so why the fuss now?
“In times of natural disasters, a responsible government like BN always puts the people’s safety first. There’s no doubt about that.”
Liew had asked yesterday whether the promises to dredge the rivers in the flood-hit areas were just lip service to pacify the people and win the support of the people in the upcoming general election.
“How many devastating floods should the people of Kota Belud suffer before funds from the much-publicised projects are made available?” she had asked during a press conference near here.
Kota Belud suffered its second major floods in three months this week which displaced more than 1,800 people.
The district experienced its worst floods in October which saw more than 2,500 people evacuated from their homes.
River sedimentation and land surface runoff, caused by the devastating earthquake that hit nearby Ranau in June 2015, were among the factors said to have caused the floods in Kota Belud.
Flood evacuees start returning home in Kota Belud as water levels recede