FLOOD victims and volunteers are currently in the post-flood clean-up phase as water levels in most places have subsided.

They told The Malaysian Insight that cleaning up could easily take up to a week or more due to the lack of manpower. 

Ramesh Kanan, 49, who works in a convenient store, said that removing the soiled furniture from the house itself easily took up to two days.

“Three quarters of my house was submerged last weekend and I have only now moved the furniture in the house. There is also the extra waste and sludge that entered the house during the flood. 

“The past two days have been slightly easier as there are volunteers helping out my family to clean up,” said Ramesh, who lives in a single-storey house at Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam, one of the worst affected.

“Most residents here are not equipped with the necessary cleaning items. Also most of these things too were damaged during the flood,” he added. 

Another resident in Taman Sri Muda said it has been very tough for him and his family, especially since they lost newly bought furniture. 

“It heartbreaking to see all my hard-earned money washed away just like that but I have to move on from this and start cleaning as soon as possible,” said Shafiq, who works as a lorry driver. 

He also hoped that politicians would stop coming to the area, as it will only prolong the cleaning process. 

“When these politicians enter to do their ‘tinjauan’, it actually wastes a lot of time we could use to clean our houses.”

Meanwhile Jeremy Tan, 48, who stays in Bukit Tinggi in Klang, another affected area, said if it were not for the volunteers, the clean-up work would take forever to complete. 

“I’m impressed and grateful these volunteers come with proper cleaning equipment and some of them even brought us food.

“There was also a group of volunteers who came by the other day and told my family to rest while they did the cleaning.

“It was really heartwarming for me to hear that since they understood the trauma we are going through,” said Tan, who is a salesman.

Students urged to help out

Volunteer Andrea Tan, 25, said that it did not take much thinking on her part to help out the victims. 

“If we don’t help our fellow Malaysians, no one will as this is the time we should practise the Kita Jaga Kita concept the most. 

“I have been here for two days with my friends and as of now, we have helped to clean three different houses,” said Andrea, who helped to clean houses in Bukit Tinggi.

Muhammad Amar, 25, who is from Damansara, said that he and his group of friends bought all the necessary equipment on Thursday and headed to Sri Muda right away. 

“I am currently on annual leave. I had actually planned to go on a holiday but after seeing the damage done, I cancelled my holiday plans. 

“The money I saved up to go on holiday have been used to buy the necessary tools required for the residents of this area,” said Muhammad, who works in a marketing agency.

Steven Raj, 22, who is a final year undergraduate, said that after watching videos of flood damage on social media, he decided to step in and play his part.

“I could not afford to buy food supplies and other necessities since I’m still a student, so cleaning is the least I could do to help these victims. 

“I have been staying over at my friend’s house in Shah Alam so it is nearer for me to come to Sri Muda to help clean up as I’m originally from Petaling Jaya,” he said.

He also encouraged more students to step forward and help the victims since it’s semester break for most university students in the country. 

A heavy downpour, which started on December 17, caused widespread flooding across the peninsula, displacing tens of thousands of people and leaving 47 dead. Five people are still missing. 

Hulu Langat and Sri Muda in Shah Alam were the hardest hit areas in the Klang Valley. – December 28, 2021.