KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said there was no discrimination intended when the government halted flood mitigation projects announced by the previous administration led by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the projects were halted as the costs were too high and the projects were done via direct negotiations.

"I want to stress that the flood mitigation projects, were approved by respective ministries, approved, with the allocated funds.

"I cancelled it because the cost was high, and was done through direct negotiations. But the projects have to continue as I announced in the Budget 2023, including the Johor floor barrier and Sungai Golok in Kelantan.

"So I want to ask, why are people saying there is discrimination?” Anwar told the Parliament today during the Prime Minister’s Question Time.

His response came after Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim asked about plans to call for a state of emergency in Johor due to the flood crisis.

Anwar said the flood mitigation projects have instead been expedited, but by limited tender process.

"So we used the limited tender method but expedited the project, that’s all.

"Then when we use the limited tender, Arau, the costs immediately decreased.

"That is why we used that method, not due to political issues. I wanted to stop the projects not just flood mitigation projects, but all projects that were approved but not signed — I cancelled them — to ensure that there is tender, that is not wrong.

"(I) didn’t cancel the flood mitigation projects, (I) cancelled the direct negotiations,” he said.

In December, after Anwar took office as the Finance Minister, he ordered to pause of channeling funds for RM7 billion out of the RM15 billion flood mitigation projects announced by the previous government.

Anwar had then said that he gave the suspension order to conduct a full review of contracts that had been awarded through direct negotiations, for possible procedural breaches.

The federal government’s flood mitigation project 2030 had been announced by previous finance minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz in October during the tabling of Budget 2023 as part of Malaysia’s long-term strategy to deal with climate change.

When answering questions on whether there were plans to call for a state of emergency in Johor due to flooding in the state, Anwar said it is not needed at the moment as the situation in Johor is under control and floods are subsiding.

A state of emergency is only needed when conventional methods are not able to address the situation, he added.

"Following the latest data, the situation is more in control and decreasing (flood) since yesterday (Monday), Arau’s (Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim) information was from Sunday, today is Tuesday.

"According to the flood relief team and Nadma (National Disaster Management Agency), there is no need for a state of emergency called, as all the areas that were disconnected have been resolved.

"For example Felda settler’s areas that have their roads disconnected, these have been addressed,” he said indicating that through his observations on the ground.

He added that the Johor State Government had put in place preparations for the flood, and this has contributed to managing the flood situation in the state well and helped save many lives.