SCORES of flood victims in Penang fear they may never be able to rebuild their lives.

Already struggling to make ends meet before the disaster, they now find themselves in need of non-existent savings to repair their homes.

Mashitah Rambli of Kampung Merbau Kudung in Tasek Gelugor is one of them.

She has had to throw out almost all her furniture and electrical appliances that were destroyed by flash floods.

“There was nowhere to move them to. I only managed to save my cats and kittens,” said the 46-year-old single mother.

After cleaning her single-storey village home of flood sediment, Mashitah said she was now faced with the impossibility of finding the thousands of ringgit needed to replace what the flood ruined.

Her family of five draw a monthly household income of a little over  RM1,000, which is barely enough to pay for their expenses.

After the floodwaters receded and volunteers helped to clean up the inundated homes, Mashitah returned to a house that was almost bare.

Her entire living and dining room is empty, and none of her beds have mattresses. Cupboards and almost all electrical items have also all been destroyed.

“We have no savings to buy what we need to replace the damaged things,” Mashitah told The Malaysian Insight.

Being strapped for cash in an emergency is, unfortunately, not an experience unique to Mashitah.

A Bank Negara Malaysia survey on financial literacy showed that three in four Malaysians find it difficult to raise even RM1,000 for an emergency.

The 2015 BNM survey showed that a majority of Malaysians tend to spend on instant gratification instead of planning for the long term. Only one in four has any form of investment.

But economists and activists told The Malaysian Insight that the low rate of savings has more to do with the rise in household expenditure than low levels of financial literacy.

Low wages and the increasing cost of living meant Mashitah’s family could not set aside money for a rainy day.

“My son-in-law is the sole breadwinner of the family. He works as a mechanic, earning just RM800 a month,” said Mashitah, who supplemented the household income by selling homemade cakes and snacks before the flood.

“I used to earn at least RM30 a day… it was not much but it helped.”

One day at a time

Many other flood victims were unprepared financially for the level of devastation that the floods incurred, as most were getting by with just enough for their daily expenses.

At Taman Sri Rambai, Bukit Mertajam, one of the worst flood-hit areas in Penang after the storm, noodles hawker Madam Ooi and her family are still at a loss as to how to pay for the repairs needed after the floods. 

The family has four cars that require fixing. They still have not heard from the mechanic how much the repairs will cost, but expect the sum to be large.

“My husband and I just sell noodles for a living. We don’t have a lot put away. We just make enough to get by,” the 55-year-old Ooi told The Malaysian Insight.

“We normally just take it a day at a time.”

She said the family managed to rescue the smaller electrical appliances and the TV in their house before fleeing on fire and rescue department boats with their two dogs. They could not save the beds, mattresses, cupboards, bookshelves and other furniture in their single-storey home.

Like many small businesses in the state, their noodle business is also affected by the floods.

They had stored their food ingredients and several fridges on the sheltered compound next to their house. Everything was damaged in the flood.

“We need to fix the fridges too. I don’t know how much that will cost too. We have to restock the ingredients. Business is still on hold at the moment.”

Government aid

The Penang government has announced a RM700 one-off cash aid for every household and business affected by the flash floods. The money will be paid by the end of the year.

The state government, which has received RM11.65 million in cash donations, has also announced a number of flood relief initiatives to ease the financial burden of flood victims.

Some of the initiatives include a 50% discount for water bills of domestic consumers for one cycle (two months), and 25% discount for commercial consumers for one cycle (one month).

The Penang Water Supply Corporation is also waiving the water conservation surcharge for one cycle for domestic consumers, as it is expecting a surge in water consumption to clean homes.

The Penang Island City Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council is also giving a 10% discount on the assessment rate for all types of properties. Damaged or lost government documents like land grants will also be replaced for free.

The state estimates that about 100,000 households are affected by the disaster.

For Mashitah, while the state aid will be a big relief for her family, the grim reality is that life is unlikely to ever return to normal.

Unable to resume her baking and cooking activities as all her equipment and utensils have been destroyed, Mashitah said she can see no way for her family to make the extra cash they urgently need to rebuild their lives.

“The flood has washed away my livelihood. I haven’t been able to bake since the disaster.”

Mashitah said her only wish now was for a fridge and a capital of RM500 to buy baking materials and ingredients to restart her business so she can make a living again.

“It is very depressing, (to be) unable to do anything, and not knowing what I can do and who to turn to for help.” – November 16, 2017.