Can you believe that we are merely days away from 2023? With the new year just around the corner, many of us have been looking forward to wrapping up the year with a blast.
Sadly, it appears that Malaysians will have to put their year-end party plans on hold – at least the huge, traditional celebration at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has just announced that the New Year’s Eve celebration at the historic site has been cancelled for this year. He cited the worsening flood situation across the country as the reason behind the decision.
“Due to the floods and hardship of the people, we have decided to cancel the grand New Year’s Eve celebration on 31st December at Dataran Merdeka,” Anwar said after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. Furthermore, he revealed that the Cabinet meeting focused on the floods in Kelantan and Terengganu.
Anwar also stated that he will be going to Kelantan to assess the situation there. Meanwhile, deputy PM, Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, visited Terengganu recently to monitor the disaster there. The Prime Minister added that he has briefed the Cabinet on the status of the floods.
“Announcements related to the floods will be made there (the east coast) after getting field reports from the state government. There were also suggestions to involve some voluntary organisations and NGOs in terms of aid and welfare. There will also be major involvement from the armed forces,” Anwar added. “Several facilities will be made available for this purpose.”
Huge respect to Anwar and the Cabinet for their decision. Hopefully, everything will go well.
