PUTRAJAYA (Dec 21): The New Year's Eve celebration to welcome 2023 at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 31 has been cancelled, due to the situation in several states hit by floods, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"Due to the flood situation and the hardship of the people, we have decided to cancel the grand New Year's Eve celebration on Dec 31 at Dataran Merdeka," he told a press conference after chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday (Dec 21).

Anwar said the Cabinet meeting focused on floods in Kelantan and Terengganu, and that he himself will go down to Kelantan to assess the situation there in the afternoon.

He said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who had already been to both states to monitor and take some immediate actions, briefed the Cabinet on the situation in Wednesday's meeting.

"I will go to Kelantan, and announcements related to floods will be made there, after getting field reports and from the state government, " Anwar added.

"Views were also presented to involve some voluntary bodies and non-governmental organisations in terms of welfare and aid, and greater involvement of the armed forces, [as well as] some existing assets to be utilised for that purpose," he said.

Anwar said the cabinet meeting also briefly discussed the developments in Parliament the past two days, especially the motion of confidence in the PM tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday.

The Tambun Member of Parliament received the support of the majority of MPs as the 10th PM of Malaysia, after the motion of confidence was passed by a voice vote after being tabled by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and seconded by Zahid.

"We can now focus on work, generating economic growth more rapidly because the mandate given is clear," he said, thanking Fadillah for tabling the well-received motion.

"[It was] almost unanimous on the day [and] even if there was a vote, a two-thirds [majority] vote was indeed assured.

"I take this opportunity to thank all the parties in the unity government, and coincidentally in this case, no one from the opposition objected," he said.

Anwar said the big mandate received is for the government to focus fully on ensuring more effective governance for the welfare of the people and the country.