PETALING JAYA: More people have been evacuated due to floods in Johor, Pahang and Sabah. In JOHOR, the flood situation in several districts saw 1,236 victims from 313 families being housed at 19 flood-relief centres. As at 4pm, Mersing still has the highest number of evacuees with 679 victims, followed by Segamat (388) and Batu Pahat (151). However, the flood relief centres in Pontian and Kluang have been closed as at 12pm and 2pm respectively, on Sunday.

The presence of hawkers has ruined the beauty of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreational Park, popularly known as Polo Ground, in Ipoh. Visitors to the park and nearby residents are complaining that hawkers’ vans, tables and chairs occupy precious parking space designated for park users while rubbish is strewn all over the area and across the road at the homes of residents. Jogger Albert Lau said the once peaceful residential suburb had been turned into a “market” with people selling produce from their car boots in the morning on weekends.

About 50 buyers of the stalled low-cost flat project in Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS) staged a protest outside the Selangor state secretariat building recently demanding a solution to their problem. The group, led by action committee chairman Sugumaran S. Muniandy and Parti Sosialis Malaysia national treasurer A. Sivarajan, insisted on handing over a memorandum to Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.

Leaders are expected to go down to the ground to understand and solve issues affecting the rakyat. Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong went one step further by hearing grouses of Bercham folks in Ipoh despite being the MP for Labis in Johor. He also visited SJK (C) Bercham to look at the upgrading works being carried out at the school. School principal Yap Kim Fatt told Chua that the school was putting up three new blocks of building which are three-storeys high to have more classrooms.Also being built are covered badminton and basketball courts, a guard post and a covered walkway leading from its main gate to the school building.