Guan Eng defends call for army help in Penang floods

Penang CM says the army only came out in full force after his 3.30am call to DPM Zahid Hamidi on Nov 4.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today challenged Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s claim that the army had already been in the state to help flood victims “many hours” before the call for aid.

Insisting that his early morning SOS call to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was not made up, Lim said Hishammuddin was not right to claim so.

“The prime minister and Hishammuddin chose to make fun of me when I asked for help from the federal government over the recent floods.

“For your information, the military does not answer to orders from the state government, but the federal government. I thank the deputy prime minister for taking my call at 3.30am and sending the army to help.”

Lim said the Penang government had done its best and was not ashamed to ask for help from the federal government on matters related to disaster relief.

“If asking for help is wrong and an embarrassment, then I am ready to be punished and humiliated,” he said.

“I hope the prime minister and Hishammuddin would answer my call at 3.30am if the same thing had happened.”

At the recently concluded Umno general assembly, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also Umno president, said Lim had been close to tears when begging for flood aid from the federal government.

Delegates had laughed at Najib’s words, which sparked anger from DAP lawmakers who said this was insensitive to the victims of the historic floods.

Hishammuddin meanwhile said Lim’s claim that the army had only mobilised after his call to Zahid was not true.

“The fact is, our men (the army) had been on the ground to aid the victims way before (DAP secretary-general and Penang chief minister) Lim Guan Eng’s video was circulated.

“Such are the theatrics shown by the opposition, to an extent that even security matters have been turned into a game or are poked fun at,” he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

The flash floods which hit Penang on the weekend of Nov 4 and 5 displaced over 8,000 people and claimed seven lives.

Half a month’s worth of rainfall poured down in 15 hours, flooding nearly the entire state. -FMT