Of all the disasters in Malaysia, floods are most frequent and bring the greatest damage annually. Historically, there have been big flood events in 1886, 1926, 1931, 1947, 1954, 1965, 1970/71, 1988, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2006/07, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014 and now 2021. It looks like some economic cycle – but it is not funny if you are a victim of the event. Of all the above events, 1926 was seen as the “biggest flood” according to DID. Why? It caused extensive damage in Peninsula Malaysia.
Most of the above events impacted Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah and Johor. But more recently it has impacted Selangor and places like Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam and Kelang.
In the recent floods, Malaysia’s disillusioned citizens avoided politicians and theocrats to rescue trapped flood victims and serve food, as one people. Ethnic diversity rallied to ferry neighbours, strangers and pets, tow stalled cars, and lift children to dry ground. Emergency services were absent. Having low expectations of government, the people did what they had to do in the immediate aftermath of the rainstorm.
Source:
https://www.malaymail.com
Six states of Peninsula Malaysia were badly hit by the tropical depression spun by Typhoon Rai after it wrecked the Philippines. The skies dumped relentlessly from Thursday through Saturday 17-19 December. A month’s volume descended in a day. Floodwaters left 70,000 people homeless. More than 45 deaths were recorded. After the initial disarray, government services were activated, and regular assistance arrived late with more resources.
Sri Muda township in affluent Selangor saw families scrambling to rooftops as the rising brown muck chased them. They perched for 48 hours without food or water. The sluice gates to release floodwaters into the river were stuck. Two of its three motors failed. The waters terrorizing Sri Muda residents walled several meters above the river into which they should have flowed.
The spontaneous caring of strangers reached out wherever humans needed food, water, and transit to safety. Sikh Gurdwaras, Church soup kitchens, NGOs, and ordinary folk at all levels, pitched in, some opening their homes to shelter the homeless.
Over a half-century, the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its continuance under different guises, has allowed mediocrity to be normalized from the cabinet down. Even critical technical services were disabled. Town Planning and the Public Works Department have lost the top-grade talent of professionals. Civil service employment and promotions are biased racially. Competence is no longer the criterion.
The Pakatan Harapan government in 2018 discovered that only four fighter planes in the entire RMAF fleet were operational. The rest were grounded due to faulty parts, missing engines, or stolen electronic gear. The competent engineers to keep the air force operational left or took early retirement. That pattern repeats itself through the Navy and the Army.
This same malaise plagues the education system. Too many deserving non-Malay children are denied entry to the nation’s institutions of higher learning. Their sense of rejection begins at primary school. The calibre of teachers and how they are promoted in a system of mediocrity is another topic for this blog. Top elite schools like RMC, VI or MCKK are reduced to village schools! Nelson Mandela made the point that it is not necessary to use nuclear bombs to destroy a nation. You just have to wreck its education system.
Malaysia once had a highly respected civil service. Its diplomats were routinely asked to draft UN resolutions by the developing countries. Malaysia summarized ASEAN meetings. Today, senior civil servants at conferences cannot follow the proceedings or engage in discussions. They collect papers, go shopping, and return to get translations for their departmental report.
So, what does the Government do because of these floods? It sets up a task force! Then the task force will produce a “Laporan Terperinci” (Comprehensive Report). This is then tabled for the Cabinet’s consideration. Then the matter is dropped till the next floods. The whole episode is like the British “Yes Minister” TV series.
We need to clean rivers, dredge the rivers, create retention ponds, have diversion channels (like SMART Tunnel), provide pumps, re-forest heavily logged areas and stop deforestation. All the above is known by this Government but who cares? And what will the task force report state? It will say bureaucracy has to be streamlined, better coordination required, change NADMA to NADI, and more allocation to buy boats, drones and uniforms! No one will be sacked, and no one will resign. Mediocrity prevails, unless we are brave enough to change the paradigm!
References:
Government AWOL in flood, Malaysians save each other, Cyril Pereira, 24 Dec 2021 (https://www.asiasentinel.com)
Impacts of Disasters and Disasters Risk Management in Malaysia: The Case of Floods, Ngai Weng Chan, University Sains Malaysia, Penang, December 2012
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