Learning to live again after the landslide

The orang asli villagers of Kampung Sungai Ruil in Tanah Rata are just waiting to go back to their shanty houses and rebuild their lives.

FEATURE

TANAH RATA: Kampung Sungai Ruil, an orang asli village in Cameron Highlands, is a place where disaster and development face each other.

On one side, there is the incessant drone of the tractor excavating the red earth to make way for a new township, while directly opposite is the disaster site caused by a landslide which took the lives of seven people – five of whom were from the same family.

The landslide happened at 5.50pm on Sunday when many of the villagers were at work. Those at home were busy preparing for their buka puasa meal, while some others were asleep.

Dorni Ahmad, a 29-year-old housekeeper with a nearby resort came home at 6pm to find half of her house swept away by the landslide.

“The first thing I did was to see if my mother-in-law’s house was still standing. My children stay with her when I’m at work.”

Her three children aged nine, six and a toddler of 18 months are safe, as are the rest of her family.

“Today, I am here with my father as I have things that I need from my house. But the authorities are not letting anyone in through.

“My father will try and see if he can go up to the house and check on it. My children find it exciting to live with the rest of the villagers in the community hall; they are too young to know what has happened.

“For the adults, it will be something we will never forget as long as we live,” said Dorni.

Before and after

It’s 20 minute drive to the Dewan Serbaguna SJK (C) Brinchang – a multi-purpose hall where makeshift canopies were set up outside to house the food area.

Large pots filled with rice, chicken curry and vegetables was the meal of the day and the wafting aroma whets the appetite. There were also bright red plastic chairs strewn about and carnival music is heard coming from the hall.

A person could be forgiven for thinking a celebration of sorts taking place.

Inside the hall, the cheerful music clashed with the overpowering scent of disinfectant and ointments for stiff joints and headaches .

Volunteers keep the children entertained with games. Colouring books and colour pencils have been distributed and many were seen running around the vast hall playing catch and screaming at each other in jest.

Their parents, who would have normally chided them for such behaviour, instead lean back against the wall, feet stretched out, tired out from the events of the previous day.

As one parent said, “It’s better to see them running around like this than to have them be quiet. I would worry if my son doesn’t want to have fun with his friends.”

A loud bang heard

Being away from friends is something Lisa Alang Tumpat is grateful for at this time. The 21-year-old is a student at Universiti Utara Malaysia in Kedah.

She is also the first person in her entire village to attend university. Lisa is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Logistics and Transportation.

Currently on her semester break, which ends at the end of August, Lisa said: “I am very happy to be with my family at this time although it’s under very sad circumstances. I would worry more about them if I were at university. I would feel even more helpless. As least now I am with my family.”

Lisa wasn’t home when the landslide happened. She was at her part-time job as a sales clerk in a convenience store about 45 minutes away from Sungai Ruil.

The rest of her family were at the village and her mother, Endon Bayu, 44, remembers exactly what she was doing just before the landslide struck.

“It rained very lightly during the day – not enough to even wet the ground. It was as if it was playing hide and seek with us. I remember checking the time to see how many hours it would be till dusk sets in.

“The clock showed 4.45pm. I was in the kitchen, about to scoop some rice into pot when I heard a loud bang, like firecrackers going off.

“I grabbed my family members and we ran out the door. We yelled a warning to our neighbours. As soon as we got out, the land just gave way. I didn’t hear screaming. Just loud crashing. I can still hear it,” she said.

There are at least 20 other residents who mention that they too heard a loud bang before the landslide happened. Then there were some others who said it sounded like a bomb going off. “Just like what you hear in the films,” said an elderly resident.

There are 666 people currently being housed at the community centre, 317 of them are children and teenagers. They are all eager to go home. Many of them aren’t worried if the area is not safe – they’re just eager to start rebuilding their lives.

‘Apa yang tidak dicari’

A large group gathered at the site at 4.30pm on sunny Monday evening and Dorni’s father made his way down the muddy haphazard walk path.

A lone police officer in army fatigues yelled out to him and instructed him to come back.

There are no caution tapes in place to cordon off the area, and yet the villagers remain compliant and walk away after being told that they should leave the area.

“Tadi kamu nak cari apa?” (What are you trying to look for?), the police officer asked him as he made his way out.

Dorni’s father offers a wry, tired smile and says quietly, eyes brimming, “Apa yang tidak dicari?” (What am I not looking for?).