DECEMBER 30 — The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia is currently experiencing the worst ever floods in history, with the worsening situation sending over a hundred thousand into evacuation centers.
The single most important and urgent thing now is disaster relief works. It is imperative that the government dispatch more resources to evacuate residents in flood-hit areas to prevent possible outbreak of contagious diseases and hence more casualties.
Meanwhile the authorities must also keep a close watch on the situation in hospitals, as seriously ill patients need urgent medical attention and they are the ones least capable of escaping to safety in case of emergency.
Malaysians have grown increasingly compassionate having experienced two tragic air disasters within this year. In states like Perak, Selangor, Terengganu, Pahang and Putrajaya, New Year countdown events have been scrapped as a means to show sympathy towards the flood victims.
The more affluent state of Selangor has announced to allocate RM1.5 million for flood relief in four states. The same should be emulated by other states as well.
Meanwhile, politicians should immediately stop their wars of words and focus on flood relief and raising of relief funds, while elected reps in flood-hit constituencies should call off their leaves and dedicate themselves to relief works instead.
Despite the fact that more than 45,000 of its residents have been evacuated in the wake of the massive floods that have paralyzed much of the state, the Kelantan government still insists to convene a special state assembly sitting on December 29 to seek to implement hudud law in the state.
Former MB Nik Aziz's son, PAS central committee member Nik Mohamad Abduh has posted in his Facebook account that Muslims must revert to the Allah's path in the wake of devastating floods now ravaging in several states.
The association of floods with hudud law only serves to illustrate the political depravity of our politicians and the utmost mental backwardness of conservative PAS leaders.
Prior to this,the PAS Youth wing in Kedah has attributed the MH17 disaster to the wrath of Allah because of alcohol served on board MAS flights and the un-Islamic uniform of its stewardesses.
Because of such an attitude, the Kelantan state government has not been able to seriously explore the real factors behind the severe floods over the decades. Do we still need a government if religion can really address all our problems?
Despite the fact that most of the flood victims in east coast and northern states are Malays, Sin Chew Daily and several Chinese organisations have held out their hands to help.
Thanks to the acts of some irresponsible quarters, racial and religious issues have been raised, affecting the otherwise harmonious relationship among Malaysians from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. To counter the actions of these extreme individuals, the most effective approach is to offer a helping hand regardless of race and religion. And nothing comes better than this in demonstrating the true 1Malaysia spirit.
Racial harmony is an ongoing task and holding out a helping hand should not be confined only to flood relief. As a matter of fact, Chinese associations can always visit orphanages and old folks' homes to show our love and care for our fellow Malaysians of different ethnic origins even during the sunnier days. If such a neighborliness spirit could prevail in our society, there will be no hope for extremists to succeed in their ill-intentioned ploys.
Looking from another perspective, it appears to me that Malaysians are so accommodating that they have never actually questioned why the country has been visited by flash floods on a regular basis over the years.
Compared to the southern states, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang have been slow in carrying out flood mitigation projects. I have no idea whether this is due to a lack of political will or monetary resources and capability.
Why have the floods gone this far as to send more than 110,000 victims into the relief centers? The meteorological department explained that the high tides were caused by the relative proximity of the Earth from the Moon. If this is the case, the flood waters would have receded after Christmas instead of getting worse.
Deliberate land clearings, uncontrolled highland developments and clogged drainage system have been major culprits for the devastating floods. But, did the authorities unclog our rivers and drains before the rainy season? Or they have simply grown numb to this perennial problem?
Before the floods struck, we seldom hear of advanced warnings from the meteorological department, or a prediction of high tides due to the proximity of the Moon.
It is time we seriously look into our own shortcomings and adequately prepare ourselves ahead of the rainy days.
*This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
