He said care must be taken by all agencies to make sure groups are not excluded on the basis of race, religion, gender or disability status.

“All members of the community must be accorded full and equal opportunity to access the support and resources provided in the relief and recovery efforts,” he said in a statement.

“Care must also be taken to identify and remove social and institutional barriers that hinder or preclude individuals and groups subjected to unequal treatment from full and equal enjoyment of the programmes, goods, services, facilities and assistance provided.

“The state must engage with NGOs: voluntary organisations, all the different faith-based, philanthropic or community organisations, chambers of commerce, business and professional organisations as well as civil society organisations to better coordinate and collaborate to help individuals and communities respond to and recover from the disaster.”

Leong said Amirudin must also engage with the private sector so their needs could be heard and addressed. This would help create and sustain jobs and minimise supply chain disruptions.

Further, he said, Amirudin should direct all municipal councils under his jurisdiction to expedite permits for rebuilding and renovations to facilitate recovery efforts.

Repairs that require structural changes must be approved within seven days, he suggested, and permits for minor works like those involving roofs, floors and walls should be granted in less than 24 hours.