Malaysians living on the border between Malaysia and Thailand had to use a chartered boat to visit Thailand after the Golok River overflowed its banks yesterday.

The monsoon floods sweeping the east coast of Malaysia have claimed their first victim this year. Khalid Al-Walid Juzaiman, 12, was found drowned in a canal in Kampung Tok Hakim, in Bukit Payung district, Terengganu, yesterday afternoon.

A spokesman for Malaysia's Fire and Rescue Department said Khalid was reported to have fallen at about 10am into the canal, which was swollen with heavy rain from the night before. He was playing nearby with two friends. He was found about 30m away from where he fell.

Meanwhile, floods in Kelantan and Terengganu worsened yesterday, with 6,700 people evacuated. Deputy Defence Minister Mohd Johari Baharum said yesterday that 2,500 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces were on standby to help flood victims.

The annual monsoon rains usually inundate Peninsular Malaysia's east coast in the last two months of the year, and often continue into January.