(Adds minister on death toll, other figures) By Yudhistira SUKAJADI, Indonesia, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Thousands of villagers forced from their homes by floods on Indonesia's Sumatra island returned on Friday to begin cleaning up as neighbouring Malaysia braced for another deluge. In Indonesia's Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, where floods and landslides killed as many as 141, the number of displaced fell from 400,000 to nearer 200,000 as people returned from shelters on high ground and temporary government camps. Aid was getting through to many of those in need of food and other basics, but rain was still heavy enough in some isolated areas to block relief shipments, officials said. "There are still five villages and two districts that we cannot reach because of the rain," health ministry crisis chief Rustam Pakaya told Reuters. He put the death toll in the two provinces at 104, although domestic affairs minister Muhammad Maaruf later gave reporters figures totalling 141. It is not unusual for such numbers to vary in Indonesia, where communications can lag and more than one department might have responsibility for collecting data. Maaruf said there were 211,530 people displaced and 179 missing in the two provinces. Many survivors who had gone home were cleaning up mud and debris on Friday, but others had found the task overwhelming and returned to the camps. "It seems impossible to return to our home. It's full of mud," Tamilah, a villager using a truck as a shelter, told Reuters Television in Sukajadi village in Tamiang district, Aceh's worst-affected area. "The problems are lack of food and drinking water," said Rosmini, another villager. Pakaya said medicines, biscuits and water purifiers would be distributed and scores of clinics were being opened in affected areas to treat and prevent medical problems. Catur Haryani, a doctor helping coordinate the aid effort in Aceh, told Reuters Television: "The health cases that we found are injuries, breathing problems and small numbers of diarrhoea." WORST SINCE 1969 Parts of peninsular Malaysia, across the Strait of Malacca from Sumatra, were also hard hit by floods, the country's worst since 1969. The Bernama news agency said at least 11 had been killed and 63,000 displaced, while the state Meteorological Department expected rains in Johor and southern Pahang to continue until Sunday. "Of course, we hope there will not be a second round of the heavy rains that caused the current floods," the New Straits Times newspaper on Friday quoted Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak as saying. "But we will be ready for it if it happens." Officials said three states including Johor, the hardest hit, would remain on red alert. "Other states have been put on standby," Che Moin Omar, director of the government's crisis and disaster management directorate, told the newspaper. The opposition took the government to task over its handling of the crisis. "One woman died because no rescue boat came despite promises of help by government agencies during the past 24 hours," said Lim Guan Eng, leader of the Democratic Action Party. Malaysian palm oil prices rocketed to 8-year highs on Thursday on fears that floods could severely cut supplies. Johor is one of Malaysia's top palm oil producers. The floods also raised concerns in Indonesia about flows of palm oil, rubber and coffee to factories and ports. Traders said damaged roads and bridges had hampered delivery. But in Aceh, home to major offshore natural gas fields and onshore processing plants, output and movement of natural gas were unaffected, industry officials said. Authorities blamed heavy rains and deforestation for the latest destruction. Lack of adequate cover leaves ground less able to absorb excess water or hold soil in place. (Additional reporting by Muklis Ali, Muara Makarim and Telly Nathalia in Jakarta and Jalil Hamid in Kuala Lumpur)
