The worst in years, say Shah Alam residents
27/02/2006 The Star

R.Ravindran, 35, executive at a warehouse for electronic equipment in TTDI Jaya

``Many of the business operators have lost hundreds of thousands of ringgit worth of equipment and products due to the flood. We had no warning, so none of us were able to shift our goods out before the water entered out premises.

“The company I work for deals with electronic goods and none of those items can be used again, so we are estimating losses of up to RM1mil.

“Our neighbours, a car showroom, also suffered heavy losses because they had about 80 new vehicles waiting to be handed over to clients. They were all submerged in about a metre-deep of water.''

V.Logeswaran, 24, TTDI resident living in a single storey unit

``I used to live here for several years and I have seen many floods, but none as bad as Sunday's.

“When I left my house at about 6am the water was about 1.6m high. Some of those living in the double storey houses decided to wait it out by going to the upper floors, but were then caught there with no way out.

“What is worrying is that there are old folks who are caught in the water while there is no sign of rescue boats arriving even at 1pm.

“One of my neighbours was furious because her 70-year-old grandfather had to wade through chest-high water to get out after waiting for hours for a boat to arrive as there was no food or water in the house.''

Ibrahim Borhan, 44, TTDI Jaya resident

``During the floods in the late 1990s, the Selangor Government announced that it would be spending hundreds of thousands of ringgit to buy rescue boats to evacuate residents caught during floods.

“It is sad to see children and old folks wading through water or being carried for several hundred metres to safety by family members.

“We met with Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) enforcement officers and they told us that the boats were coming but there was no sign of them even in the afternoon.

“The water is already receding, albeit slowly, and we think that there is no need for the boats anymore.''

M. Veerapan, 60, former Air Force staff living in TTDI Jaya

``The government has been full of promises, saying for over a decade now that the flood problems will be resolved, but we continue to face the problem.

“I am a retiree and the flood today (Sunday's) has damaged every single item that I ever owned so how am I to replace these things?

“There are lots of tempers flaring and some of them even confronted (State Infrastructure and Public Utilities Committee chairman) Datuk Fatah (Iskandar) because the devastation is so great and many who are living in single-storey houses are from the low or middle-income group.

“It will take us years to replace all that we have lost.''

Saras Raken, resident of Taman Mesra Batu Tiga in Shah Alam

“It's the worst flood so far. We have had floods over the past years, but there was nothing like this.

“My refrigerator and kitchen cabinets are gone and if it rains again, I can't imagine what's going to happen.''

M. Batu Malay of Taman Mesra, Batu Tiga (He was crying in despair over the destroyed items on the ground floor of his double-storey home).

“I just bought this house last year. We managed to only salvage certain things as the water came in really fast.

“I first realised that the water was seeping into my house at about 4am. The first thing I did was shift the furniture to the upper floor and make sure my family members were safe upstairs. ''

Azman Ahmad, taxi driver

``Taxi business for the day has dropped by at least half due to the floods.

“We could only pick passengers from Shah Alam into Subang. For those wanting to head into Shah Alam or Klang, we drop them at Padang Jawa or Section 18, Shah Alam, where they can take the train.''

Ahmad Ramli, taxi driver

“The Batu Tiga toll is closed. So we have to use alternative routes.

“But despite this, we don't charge our customers double. We are hoping business will return to normal later in the evening once the flood has subsided. If it doesn't we will have to return home with less than half of our usual earnings.''