JANAURY 4 ― The recent floods in eight Malaysian states have devastated homes, vehicles, livestock, farms, farming equipment, etc. and with that comes the financial losses and worries.
Not only have they been struggling to put food on the table due to a reduction in income and savings arising from the scarring effects of the Covid-19 induced lockdowns, but the flood has exacerbated the situation by constraining their ability to go out to work as their vehicles were damaged by floodwater, among other calamities.
For Selangorians affected by the flood, each household is eligible to receive a total of RM2,000 one-off financial assistance ― RM1,000 from the federal government via the Bantuan Wang Ihsan and another RM1,000 from the Selangor state government. There are some who are clamouring for their EPF savings to be withdrawn under an extension of the i-Citra scheme. According to Umno Youth Chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, many flood victims in Kampung Bukit Changgang, Selangor, for example, have pleaded for another round of RM10,000 withdrawal from EPF as they do not have much cash in hand available to spend.
Instead, the Prime Minister has announced that flood victims would receive as much as RM61,000 so that this is precisely to ensure that they do not have to dip into their EPF savings as stated in his New Year message. Finally, for houses that have been totally destroyed, the government will help bear the cost up to RM56,000 for the construction of a new one.
In addition, to prevent flooding on such a massive scale, flood management should be reconceptualised:Meaning ― instead of disjointed or isolated flood management systems of sluice gates and pumping stations that are simply connected to the river without any overall strategic purpose – there should be an overall masterplan.
The Marina Barrage is similar to the Thames Barrier ― that formidable concrete series of 10 separate movable steel gates which stands at 20 meters tall and stretching 520 meters designed to protect the City of London from tidal flooding.
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