Home NEWS Flood victim roasts minister after foreigners, not agencies, came to the rescue
Flood victim roasts minister after foreigners, not agencies, came to the rescue
A flood victim took the opportunity of cabinet minister Noh Omar's visit to a relief shelter in Hulu Langat, Selangor yesterday to give him an earful over the government's slow response in rescuing victims trapped by the deadly disaster.
The woman was recorded on video telling Noh her harrowing experience of trying to seek help from the government when floodwater rapidly increased in Taman Sri Nanding and trapped the residents there, including her family.
She claimed that calls were made to many agencies, but none arrived to help bring them out of danger.
"On the day of the incident, we were trapped from midnight until 4.30am. We called every government agency, but no action was taken when we were in a critical situation.
"We called the Fire and Rescue Department, the Civil Defence Force, and even Kem Sungai Besi (Army camp). I even tried to ask for help from a TV3 producer.
"But none helped us, who were trapped in our house. No government agency came to help us.
"Why do the agencies only come when the flood is already receding? When the situation was critical, water reached the roof, none of them came to help," the woman was heard saying in a recorded video taken during the visit.
Noh, who is the entrepreneur development and cooperative minister, was there to deliver some aid to flood-stricken victims who were taking shelter in a temporary relief centre at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Abdul Jalil in Hulu Langat.
He was also the chairperson of the Selangor National Security Council (NSC). Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari replaces Noh effective today.
The only people who came to their rescue that early morning, the woman added, was a group of three Indonesians who took it upon themselves to paddle a small boat.
"The foreigners were the ones who helped us. Where were the government agencies at that time?"
According to her, she learned that the only agency that came to Hulu Langat during the critical time was the Civil Defence Force, but they were allegedly armed with only three boats to help the whole district.
"Of course, Tan Sri, three boats wouldn't be enough to help all the victims in Hulu Langat. This is common sense, isn't it Tan Sri?" – Malaysiakini
flood victim
Noh Omar
Previous articleFloods at Bukit Jelutong, Guthrie Highway
Next articleProsecutor: No pressure from palace to charge Clare Rewcastle Brown