PUCHONG – Although the gruesome flash floods that began a fortnight ago are over, victims in Kg Sri Aman in Puchong are still quivering in fear, as they are unable to forget the calamity, in which they lost all their belongings in the blink of an eye.
Resident Abdul Rahim said that even though the flooding was a “yearly” affair in the area, this time around the water level was “cruel” because of the sudden abnormal rise in a short span of time.
“We have experienced floods for over a decade, but never as bad as this.
The flood engulfed our entire neighbourhood and we are now ‘sehelai sepinggang’ (left with nothing),” he told The Vibes.
Recalling that horrific night, Rahim said the floodwaters rose quickly and his family had no time to pack anything apart from important documents.
They had no choice but to walk to Masjid Sri Aman, located 1.5km away, to seek shelter.
According to Rahim, his eldest brother-in-law was the last to leave their house, as he needed to ensure that all of their important documents were not left behind and that all electrical devices were switched off.
Unfortunately, the flood had reached chest-level when his brother-in-law left the house.
“My 55-year-old brother-in-law is 5ft 11in, so just imagine the height of the water.
“It took him over an hour to walk to the mosque because the water current was fairly strong,” he explained.
Only NGOs, individuals extended help, resident claims
When met, Rahim was seen cleaning his house. He voiced dismay as the residents had yet to receive any assistance from the government by then.
Instead, non-government organisations (NGOs) and regular Malaysians had come forward to lend them a helping hand from day one.
“It has been 16 days since the flood started and subsided, yet no personnel from government agencies or leaders from any political parties came by to visit, let alone got in touch with us.
The only ‘batang hidung’ (entities) that came by were NGOs and random people from close neighbourhoods who were not affected by the flood,” he said in anger.
For the past five days, Rahim and his family were getting help from strangers to clean his house.
Rahim and ten other extended families, who have lived on the plot of land for over two decades, face an approximate loss of RM30,000 to RM80,000 each.
Neighbouring areas like Kg Tengah and Kg Kenangan were also severely affected, as they share the same drainage system believed to be narrow, according to Rahim.
Rahim claimed that several years back, an official from a government-linked company had come to the area to look into the drainage problem so as to deepen the flow of water into the river to prevent flooding, but no follow-up actions were taken.
While the municipal authorities and village heads are fully aware of the problem, residents’ grievances appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
There is a very bad practice here whereby the village heads are only interested in holding positions but never fulfil their responsibilities.
“It is fine if the leadership is not highly educated or well-versed (in such issues), as long as he or she is responsible enough.
“We do not need poor leadership that focuses on playing politics and cronyism,” he said.
Don’t blame floods on God, find solutions instead: resident
Asked whether state exco and Seri Serdang state assemblywoman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud had visited the area, Rahim claimed that she did not.
He accused her of not taking an interest in their welfare despite being Selangor’s health exco.
Rahim called on both the federal and Selangor state governments to come up with a mechanism to solve the endless episodes of flooding, which have been lingering for over a decade.
He also rubbished the repeated statements issued by ministers and the Meteorological Department that the floods are caused by the high-tide phenomenon.
Don’t be pathetic by playing the blame game on Allah and stating that this disaster is His will.
“The yearly flood and high tide phenomenon have always been here, for ages. It’s nothing new.
“Instead of wasting time and uttering foolish things, why not find a solution?” – The Vibes, January 6, 2022
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