Over 38,000 Southern Volunteers ready to assist flood victims

MORE than 38,000 Southern Volunteers (SV) are prepared to be deployed to help flood victims in Johor during the monsoon season.

Deputy State Secretary (sports, youth, and volunteering) Datuk On Jabbar @ Jaafar said the increase in registration was due to the cooperation with the Education Department earlier this year.

“This year we managed to register 12,000 new members; all of them are Form 6 students whom we have selected from one school in each constituency in the state.

“Although the number seems quite huge, not all of them will be deployed as we are more focused on volunteering work and it is not necessarily compulsory to come to all programmes that we conduct,” he said after the launch of the Rakan Muda Award ceremony at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Iskandar Puteri.

He said SV was created to provide a platform for youths to conduct social work and volunteerism.

On said some of the members had also been sent to undergo training together with the Civil Defence Force and Welfare Department in Kluang.

“They will attend a disaster management workshop to better prepare them for any emergencies, especially floods in Johor.

“Earlier this year, Johor was hit by floods twice in a span of a few months, so we see a demand for more volunteers to be deployed to help not only the victims but also the enforcement and rescue agencies too.

“We need more volunteers with awareness and basic know-how on what to do in case they are called to help, or even if they themselves become flood victims,” he said.

A total of three disaster management workshops were conducted this year to give better exposure to all SV members, he added.

“We are also working closely with local councils for the post-flood clean-up work, as they have the necessary equipment,” said On.

Earlier, MetMalaysia director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said in a statement that the department expected four to six occurrences of heavy rain during the northeast monsoon from Nov 11 until March 2024.

Heavy rain is expected in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, and the western side of Sarawak.