Malaysia: Reduce our disaster risks - opinion

'The ongoing floods are a lesson not too late for learning. Let’s have a happier new year.' M. Veera Pandiyan of The Star examines the history of flooding, early warning, disaster management and governance in Malaysia.

Pandiyan writes, 'We obviously need new strategies and disaster risk reduction must be made a national priority', recalling the 'Malacca Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction in Malaysia 2011', which among other things, stressed on the need for a national platform and comprehensive legal framework for disaster management.