Bertam flood victims fume over 'invisible' treatment

On Day Two after the Bertam Valley flash flood, residents are fuming over the lack of governmental support for their clean-up efforts.

“The flood is not the real problem. After the incident, we are invisible. Did anyone from the government departments come? Not even one. 

“When welcoming (Pahang Crown Prince Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah) and other dignitaries, everyone is there, having their photos taken. 

“There is no one here to coordinate the clean-up efforts. We even paid for all these; the fuel and the wages,” local-born businessman Wong Kan Sing (right) said yesterday. 

As the interview was ongoing at Bertam Valley New Village in the afternoon, residents wearing rubber boots and dishwashing gloves were busy throwing out flood-damaged items onto the streets.

Some roads were completely clogged, with waterlogged furniture and electronic items piled up to a metre high and stretching tens of metres long.

Lorries periodically rolled past behind Wong to pick up the items for disposal, while tractors worked to remove knee-deep mud from the very same roads. 

New Village is located about 100 metres from the banks of Sungai Bertam, which flooded in the wee hours of Oct 23 when the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam gates were opened.

Wong said he was not concerned whether the incident that claimed three lives was accidental or not. Instead, he stressed that what mattered now was to deal with its aftermath.

Upon overhearing the interview, some victims shouted to complain about the lack of aid, electricity, and clean water following the disaster.

“Look at China. They would have sent soldiers to the rescue. The soldiers are here, but just to welcome the (the crown prince),” one said.

Another complained that ministers and elected representatives were more interested in skirting around the worst parts of the disaster zone and go straight for photo opportunities.

“It is better if they don’t come.  When they come, all the people who are supposed to help have to be there,” Wong added.

Residents at the New Village area also told Malaysiakini that the area has never been flooded in recent memory, and thus they paid no heed when warning sirens were sounded just before midnight.

Pointing to a surau by the river about 80 metres away, vegetable farmer Wong You Wah said the water would normally only reach the surau, but this time the water almost reached its roof.

‘I felt the water at my feet’

“About 1.30am, I woke up to use the toilet, but as I was doing that I felt the water at my feet. Then I realised that something was wrong, why are they letting out so much water?

“I quickly rushed out, but by then the water has reached my waist and I could not leave,” You Wah (left) said.

He said he had to wait until the water subsided slightly before leaving, and was able to reach higher ground before the contents of the dam were released for the third time, at 2.45am.

The 69-year old estimates the damages to be in the tens of thousands of ringgit and said the government should compensate them for this.

You Wah  also claimed that authorities did not call for anevacuation, despite Cameron Highlands OCPD Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu’s insistence that patrol cars had gones out to urge people to evacuate, using loudspeakers, at 11.45pm.

Asked at a press conference later that day about the lack of help with clean-up efforts, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob (right) said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had just announced an immediate aid of RM500 for relocated victims and RM3,000 for those whose houses were destroyed.

To a question whether the sum is sufficient since residents have each reported losses in the tens of thousands of ringgit, Adnan said Crown Prince Tengku Abdullah had stated more aid would  be given by sympathisers, if necessary.

“This is an act of God, so whatever you have received, you should be contended. ‘Enough’ is subjective,” he told the same press conference.

Bernama later reported that in addition to the immediate aid, Najib had also announced RM38.9 million to rebuild the area and relocate residents.

To date, three people have died in the tragedy and one is missing. A school, some 80 houses, farms and about 100 vehicles were also damaged.

As of yesterday, the roadsides from Ringlet into Bertam Valley have been lined with flood-damaged vehicles recovered from the flood. They were covered in mud, with plant matter stuck to the wheel wells and undercarriage.

Some of the vehicles were reportedly swept several kilometres downstream by the floodwaters from the dam.