Monday, January 15, 2007
It's time to declare an emergency in Johor
The number of people evacuated from their homes due to the worsening flood situation in Johor has crossed 110,000. The population of Johor is about 2.7 million; that means about five percent of its inhabitants have been forced to flee their homes, leaving any undamaged properties at the mercy of criminals. Plus the added threat of wide scale epidemics hitting the population, due to the stagnant waters which officials say will not drain out until March, means that an official state of emergency must be declared. It is not a time to vacillate and bicker amongst the dizzying number of Federal and state agencies. It is a time for firm leadership. The people are waiting expectantly for decisive action. A state of emergency is the best viable option under current circumstances. As it is, no top leadership in the government are present in the state in its hour or need. The Prime Minister has only made one visit in December before scampering off overseas. It is no surprise that he is still overseas now when he is morally obliged to be in Malaysia.
While the government may like to shy away from such a decision and hope all will be well, the opposite result is already in motion, with a potential catastrophic disaster which could involve large number of lives, already being formed. Some sources say that health situation in Johor is in dire straits - something which is being under reported by the mainstream media. The government has also ordered an additional 1,500 police officers into Johor, but I doubt that is going to make much of a difference to the chaos ensuing there.
This is now a job for the military. They have got the equipment and the trained personnel to bring some semblance of order and reassurance to the population. While some may argue that civilian control is more effective, we cannot deny the fact that the military has doctors, boats and trained personnel to make a big difference to the relief efforts and the worsening security situation there.
It is understandable that the government wants to keep the military in the barracks so that it need not worry about photos of armed soldiers appearing in the newspapers - both local and foreign. This year is after all, Visit Malaysia Year. A state of emergency will also mean the military will assume a bigger role in decision making, something which will be frowned upon by UMNO. ¶ 4:50 PM
While the government may like to shy away from such a decision and hope all will be well, the opposite result is already in motion, with a potential catastrophic disaster which could involve large number of lives, already being formed. Some sources say that health situation in Johor is in dire straits - something which is being under reported by the mainstream media. The government has also ordered an additional 1,500 police officers into Johor, but I doubt that is going to make much of a difference to the chaos ensuing there.
This is now a job for the military. They have got the equipment and the trained personnel to bring some semblance of order and reassurance to the population. While some may argue that civilian control is more effective, we cannot deny the fact that the military has doctors, boats and trained personnel to make a big difference to the relief efforts and the worsening security situation there.
It is understandable that the government wants to keep the military in the barracks so that it need not worry about photos of armed soldiers appearing in the newspapers - both local and foreign. This year is after all, Visit Malaysia Year. A state of emergency will also mean the military will assume a bigger role in decision making, something which will be frowned upon by UMNO. ¶ 4:50 PM
