CHENOR, June 29 — Restaurant operator Osman Alif is upset with the authorities for ignoring the plight of flood victims here.
“We got RM500 from the Welfare Department as well as food supply for two weeks but what happened after that was a bigger problem than the floods,” he said.
Osman, 62, said the villagers were left to fend for themselves after being out of business for over three months after the floods.
He said he was upset when he heard of the amount of assistance sent to earthquake victims in Nepal and Sabah.
“Maybe I cannot equate the situation here to what happened there, but what about us?”
He said weeks after the floods subsided, no one visited their town to check on their situation.
“The Welfare Department officers only met us at the relocation centre and until today, no one has come to check on us.”
Osman not only lost his source of income but also his electrical items in Bandar Lama Chenor after the floods hit on December 24.
Osman, who opened his restaurant by the riverside 19 years ago, said his family would have a low-key Hari Raya after losing almost RM12,000 worth of appliances in his restaurant and home.
“We live with whatever we have now because we cannot afford new items.”
He said after being relocated to SMK Tengku Ampuan Afzan in Chenor for over two weeks, returning to his home and restaurant was the most difficult thing to do.
“What used to be the walls of our restaurant was rubble on the floor and all our electrical items including three fridges were covered in mud.”
Osman said his family needed financial help to get their business moving again.
“Our restaurant could make a maximum of RM200 a day and we relied heavily on this income.”
He said help offered by SME Corporation Malaysia was duly appreciated but he and his family had no funds to replace everything.
“We just nailed back pieces of broken wood we could find and that is the best we have.”
