He said the water pump had worked well before the floods hit the housing area last month.
However, since the pump relied on a power source, it could not be used because Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) had cut off electricity supply to the area as a safety precaution, he said.
“I was surprised when he proposed that we bomb the pump. The pump was actually working, and I can confirm it.
“Of course, when the power supply to the pump is cut, it couldn’t work. So, what we did instead was to use a TNB mobile generator, which took some time to function,” he said at the opening of the Malaysia Recycling Alliance (Marea).
Debating the floods in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Mohamad (PH-Kota Raja) had demanded an explanation as to why the army did not blow up the “damaged” water pump to release the water when the floods struck on Dec 18.
“When I went to the banks (of Sungai Muda), there were many soldiers there,” Mohamad, fondly known as Mat Sabu, said.
“I found that the water level was much lower than that of the floodwaters in the area and that the water was subsiding slowly.
“When I asked the troops standing there why the water was subsiding slowly, they said the pump was not working and that they had to get a new unit to pump it out.
“I know that I was no longer the defence minister, but I still asked them – why couldn’t they just bomb the pump so that the stagnant water could flow out into the river?
“A damaged bund can always be repaired. If we can spend billions of ringgit on repaying interest on 1MDB debts, why can’t we spend far less on building new bunds?” he asked.
Tuan Ibrahim said bombing the water pump would have had a worse effect on the area around Taman Sri Muda.
“The sluice gate serves to prevent water from outside, namely Sungai Klang, overflowing into Taman Sri Muda, and also to release water from the housing estate into the river.
“The concept of sluice gates must be understood. If we bomb the place, where will the water run to?
“The department of irrigation and drainage has done a thorough study and the pump is the best system,” he said.
It was earlier reported that Taman Sri Muda is located in a low-lying area. When the high tide phenomenon occurs, there is also a backflow. The sluice gates have to be closed to prevent the water from Sungai Rasau and Sungai Klang flowing into this area.
Commenting on the criticisms of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s speech, which was described as “a blame game” by some parties, especially the opposition, Tuan Ibrahim said the details shared in the Dewan Rakyat by Ismail reflected the reality on the ground on how the floods were handled, and must be accepted by all parties.
“The prime minister was just stating the facts and was not purposely blaming the Selangor government.
“I think his explanation is intended for us to move forward towards making further improvements, and not to assign blame,” he said.