TEMERLOH, June 29 — Muhd Ramzan Ayub, 30, from Kampung Tebal has been finding it difficult to make ends meet since the big flood in December.
Muhd Ramzan, who has been in the fish breeding industry for 10 years, said there was nothing he could do to save the patin and tilapia cages that were damaged by strong currents when Sungai Pahang rose 75m on December 24.
He said although there was talk of aid for the villagers since January, none of them had received any.
“I rely solely on my fish business to feed my family but when the cages were destroyed, I had nowhere to turn to.”
Muhd Ramzan said it took three months to clean up the mess.
“We salvaged and repaired whatever we could. The rest had to be thrown away,” he said.
He suffered nearly RM80,000 in losses with 12 cages washed away.
“Each cage holds up to hundreds of fishes and can cost up to RM6,000. How can I replace everything at one go when I cannot even afford one new cage?”
Another fish breeder, Khairul Naim Ramli, 32, also from Kampung Tebal, said it took a week before he could clean up and assess the damage caused by the floods.
“I only lost four cages, so I don’t feel the pinch of having to refurbish all the cages. I also have a side business.”
Khairul Naim said many patin cage owners were still waiting for government aid to help them rebuild their businesses.
“The only aid we received was from the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation which gave a minimum of RM1,000 to those affected.”
He said many breeders abandoned their cages because they couldn’t afford to repair the ruined ones.
Muhd Ramzan and Khairul Naim said it was difficult to locate many of their fellow breeders by the riverside because they had left to find work elsewhere.
Nurhidayah Zulkifli, 26, who had operated by the riverside in Temerloh town for eight years, said this was the longest she had gone without any income.
She suffered RM3,000 in damages to her shop which remained closed after the floods.
“The supply of patin and tilapia has depleted. We decided to temporarily close the business as we had nothing to sell.”
Nurhidayah said it was still a challenge to get back to everyday life six months after the floods.
She said she received RM1,000 aid from the Welfare Department after the floods subsided when her family was relocated to SK Bandar Temerloh, but it was not enough to cover the losses.
Her family survived on food aid that was distributed at the school to displaced families and businesses.
Nurhidayah said she had to throw away all electrical appliances in her shop when she returned after two weeks.
“The shop was knee-deep in mud and I could not save anything. My main concern during the flood was my family’s safety.”
“We have to survive with what we have for now, and hope everything will be back to normal soon because we have nothing else but this restaurant.”
