Ministry to ensure all communication towers function during floods – Shabery

KEMAMAN: The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (KKMM) will ensure that all communication towers are fully functioning even though they are inundated during the flood season, said its minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, here.

He said several communication towers that were inundated during the flood season last year, especially in the Kemaman area, had already been upgraded so that they were located on higher ground and would not be inundated during the flood season.

“The sites for several power stations for the communication towers have been relocated to higher ground and we are confident that towers located in the flood-prone areas will continue to function despite the disruption in power supply,” he told reporters when met after an event to present medals at the Awana Kijal Kemaman, here yesterday.

Shabery, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kemaman, said that based on the experience from the floods last year, the KKMM was confident the problem of breakdowns in communication coverage would not recur if the floods hit the East Coast, especially in the low-lying areas such as Kemaman.

He said the Kemaman District Council had held several meetings on preparations by the relevant agencies to face the monsoon season this time.

Meanwhile, Shabery said the ministry would also cooperate with several amateur radio associations under the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to assist in terms of information sharing in the flood-affected areas.