2014 Flood: As it Floods, the Sand Shifts and the Bell tolls for Najib.

Over the last week, I was in Raub. Doing my small part to alleviate the pain people suffered as a result of flooding. We managed to deliver foodstuffs to many victims at the various flood shelters in Raub.

Before sending the contributions, I sent out a text on the SMS to the District officer of our intention. I did not want any overzealous official, ketua kampong or the local UMNO strongman to prevent us sending much needed help.

No unwanted confrontation took place presumably because everyone understood that in times of calamity, the priority is to ensure help reached the victims. The presence of Special Branch personnel accompanying us on our rounds, helped too. I hope my colleagues in other parts of Malaysia got the same treatment.  

I cannot say the same of the conduct and behaviour of some self-appointed Guardians Of Our Nation’s Souls (GOONS) elsewhere. In KLuang Johore, my colleague YB Liew Chin Tong and his team were told to leave and prevented from handing help directly to flood victims. What’s wrong with these overzealous people? Were they having this ‘not allowed if not thought by us’ syndrome?

Similar tales were relayed to me about private volunteers being stopped by pro-UMNO groups from delivering help in Kelantan. These volunteers were told not to interfere in the affairs of government. Well, the government in Kelantan is PAS. If we want to be technical on this matter, then all help must be channelled through the agencies created by the state government.

People don’t care- in times of want and deprivation, they don’t care whether the cat is red or white- as long as it catches mice. UMNO and pro UMNO groups do not own help channels.  

Fortunately Raub was spared from the more catastrophic experience suffered by places like Jerantut and Kuala Lipis. Mentakab and Termerloh were also hardest hit. The Mentakab ADUN and his team of volunteers did their best to lessen the misery of flood victims.

In Raub, a total of 207 people were evacuated to flood shelters and only for one day. I was glad to see that these people were given adequate supplies. The government agencies and people did a sterling job. We don’t politicise help given to the rakyat.

The worst hit areas are in Kelantan. Kuala Krai, if people were able to watch some video footages in cyberspace which the government will not show, was utterly devastated. The Malay saying, padang jarak padang terkukur would be most appropriate to describe it. Kuala Krai is a war zone levelled and scorched.

My esteemed blogging colleague, Dato Kadir Jasin used the Malay expression sekali air bah, sekali pasir berubah- casting an unpromising shadow over the future of PM Najib. He went on to warn that UMNO must choose between Najib and UMNO’s survival. This isn’t a Phillip’s Curve choice between inflation and employment. We have only one choice- to expedite the exit of an incompetent government led by an equally inept leader.

Kadir Jasin’s umbilical attachment to UMNO is entirely his right. To him UMNO must survive in order to ensure the country and Malays survive. Many of us will want nothing of that. We don’t have his umbilical attachment nor do we believe that every grain of rice we eat, is the result of UMNO’s efforts and struggles.

To me, Najib has no more future. The fate of UMNO and his own is already sealed by the next GE. No one seemed to appreciate that UMNO and BN actually lost in GE13. They no longer enjoy popular support and remain as government because of technicalities. I am not going to offer ameliorating rationale about Najib’s and UMNO’s conduct over the worst flood the country has faced. I only want to contribute towards affirming our coming rejection of Najib and his government. Our destiny does not depend on whether UMNO survives the next election or not.

Kuala Krai is indeed a watershed which showed the government’s incompetence in handling a national disaster. The area was completely levelled to the ground. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, home and property, immoveable and moveable were destroyed. The cost of cleaning after the floods will be enormous. Disease and health issues are to be expected. Najib and his gang appear to think, they can respond to the flood with a jamboree mentality complete with his minions pointing to the water and saying or mocking us- look Tonto- this is water.

I read with horror some of the SOS messages sent by doctors at Kuala Krai hospital pleading for help as the water rose. There were horrific tales of being unable to operate on patients, of working in pitch dark environment and so forth. Help did not come in time. We will never know of the fatal devastation at Kuala Krai hospital.

It is unfortunate that to some parties, the tragic floods were an excuse to bolster a PR presence and to boast around sending relief and help. I am not going to write about this because, what matters most now, help arrived to flood victims, accompanied by boasts or not.

It’s heart-warming to see a continuous stream of 4WDs passing through Raub manned entirely by volunteers sending all sorts of help to Kelantan. I met with a group of 3 men, all professionals doing their 6^th trip sending supplies to flood stricken areas in Kelantan. They must have gone to the farthest point possible in their vehicles. Thank you to these unsung heroes. There is a future yet for Malaysia.

There is one nagging question though. With such extent and level of devastation that took place in any areas of Kelantan, why wasn’t a state of emergency declared?  More than 150,000 people were affected and extensive destruction of property and livestock taking place, everyone is puzzled as why Najib, refused to declare a state of emergency.

The last time severe floods overwhelmed Pahang, I asked the same question through the Pahang MB. The answer I was given was that Najib would also have to declare a state of emergency in other states. That meant more resources would have to be spent.

When floods devastated Mississippi some time ago, President Obama declared emergency for Mississippi without having to declare the same over all the other states. Maybe Obama did not have the opportunity to impart some knowledge to Najb during their golfing meet. The game does not enhance intelligence after all.

Isn’t this the time to showcase that we have the best machinery to take care of floods and to show everyone, we have the much touted and much spent on assets? So why has Najib refused to declare a state of emergency? Such a declaration would allow the usage of nationally owned facilities and assets and other resources to be used. Do we have sufficient of these?