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  Yahoo News 19 Jan 07
Three months for Malaysia flood clean-up

Today Online 20Jan 07
Johor wades into Operation Clean-up
Malaysia — After a month of heavy rain and severe flooding, Johor Baru is facing a massive three- month clean-up, a review of the state's defences against flooding and a tourism crisis.

The New Straits Times reported that occupancy rates in most major hotels plummeted by as much as 30 per cent, leaving tour agents and guides out of work. Malaysian Tourist Guides Council president Jimmy Leong said: "Singapore tour agents are not selling Johor until the situation improves."

With the tourism and hospitality sector in the southern state heavily dependent on Singaporeans, the council and Tourism Malaysia have met to draw up plans to woo back visitors from across the Causeway.

One strategy is for Johor shopping malls to stay open until midnight to attract Singaporeans doing their pre-Lunar New Year shopping. "During the last two weekends, we expected about 120 busloads of Singaporeans to cross into Johor. But three-quarters of them cancelled," Mr Leong told the newspaper.

For the 110,000 Malaysians displaced by the floods, however, the priority is clearing the debris, repairing damaged infrastructure and rebuilding homes.

Johor Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman said the massive clean-up would take three months. Works Minister S Samy Vellu said it will cost an estimated 350 million ringgit ($153.6 million) to rebuild the damaged infrastructure. The private sector estimated economic losses at 2.4 billion ringgit.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the government will also review flood defences in Johor. "I don't think this is a one-off flood. It is going to be a new phenomenon in the state of Johor," he said.

Yahoo News 19 Jan 07
Three months for Malaysia flood clean-up

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia has focused on the massive clean-up after floods that displaced more than 110,000 people, a task estimated to take some three months, as the waters began to subside.

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the government must review flooding defence infrastructure after the torrential rainfalls that have submerged parts of southern Johor state since December.

"There is a lot of new thinking that has to be done. People have stopped working and businesses have completely been damaged in this flood for one whole month," he said. "I don't think this is a one-off flood. It is going to be a new phenomenon in the state of Johor," he said.

Works Minister S. Samy Vellu has said that damaged infrastructure will cost 350 million ringgit ( 100 million dollars) to repair. The private sector has reportedly estimated economic losses at 2.4 billion ringgit.

With rescue and relief efforts now halted, labour and equipment are being mobilised to clear the debris, repair damaged infrastructure and reconstruct homes.

The New Straits Times newspaper quoted Johor state Chief Minister Abdul Ghani Othman as saying the state government aims to complete the process within three months.

"We must quickly get over this calamity and move on with our development priorities," Abdul Ghani said. With weather conditions improving, more people are leaving evacuation centres.

In Johor there were some 61,987 evacuees in relief centres, down from a peak of about 110,000 on Monday, while the number of evacuees in other affected states of central Pahang had dropped to 290 and 51 in Sabah on Borneo island.
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