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Sakmongkol ak 47

ariff.sabri@gmail.com

Saturday 3 January 2015

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 6th 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?

10 comments:

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 10:19  

Dato,

Wish u a happy 2015, no doubt u spent the last of the crazy horse days within reach of the flood water in Raub.

U should be proud too about that special treatment provided by our Special Branch personnel.

Someone MUST be looking VERY highly on u!

About the problem of declaring the state emergency, there is a rumor that tied in with the same circumstances as the breaking down of the NDC administration.

U r probably right that nationally owned facilities and assets and other resources r ONLY on paper. There r either none existence &/or in unusable state of maintenance. The worst is they ONLY found out after the requests were made for using these national assets!

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 10:37  

Why hasn't Najib declare a state of emergency?

What a question to qwk. The answer is simple. Rosmah is not around to give instruction.

The last instruction given by Rosmah was for Najib to cancel his golfing holiday and head back to Malaysia by whatever transport he could get. Don't touch the government jet.

Najib was also instructed by Rosmah to play acting in the flood so that Malaysians would be led to believe that he was fully involved in aiding the flood victims.

Rosmah must be mad of Najib's stupidity. Instead of bolstering his image, Umno members had called for his sacking.

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 10:58  

From Najib all the way down ....useless and incompetence... mediocre running the nation... give it to Rosmah la...sicko.

hktan 3 January 2015 at 11:08  

if Kuala Krai is in Trengganu or any BN controlled state surely emergency would have been declared, i sincerely think so.

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 16:54  

Kuala Krai is in Kelantan and hence under the PAS state government. What has PAS done to deal with the crisis?

We know the Kelantan MB just sat at home and watch the water flow past.

We can blame Najib and UMNO but isn't PAS much more culpable for the Kelantan problem. PAS should be kicked out of Kelantan (or Malaysia for that matter).

Don't be double standard!!!

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 17:00  

By now the flood waters would have reached Pekan.

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 17:44  

If anything, the pathetic handling of the flood situations had proven to us that we can do without the BN government. Their incompetence and bungling was evidenced everywhere. And to top it all, Najib's golfing with Obama in Hawaii was the last straw that broke the camel's back. If not for the compassion and the selfless sacrifice by so many faceless and nameless Malaysians from all walks of life. the situation would have been unbearable. Malaysians should now realized that any other government should be able to handle the situation better than the BN.

Anonymous,  3 January 2015 at 19:36  

This flood disaster proved how incompetent our government is.

bruno 4 January 2015 at 00:02  

Dato,it is good to know that things in Raub are not as bad as in other parts of Pahang and other parts of the country,especially in Kelantan.And people of all races have come together as Malaysians,except for a few buffaloes with no brains.

Devastation of our tropical forests,due to over logging and corruption in gomen agencies and politicians are also part of the problems.Clogged rivers leading out to the open seas added to the severe floodings.

We all know that the gomen under Umno/BN is very very incompetent.

But what about the leadership in PKR,the taikor of PR?It is also very very incompetent and very much in disarray.The problem is PKR,and not about PAS and the bogeyman,Hudud.What can PAS do about Hudud law,what it cannot do since the Kelantan gomen passed hudud ions ago.

It is time the DAP leadership get it's priorities right and stop flogging PAS and the dead horse called Hudud.DAP is trying to sway away the problems in PKR by bashing the PAS and it's leaders.

It is time that the DAP leaders like LGE and Tony Pua show the people that they got real balls,by going after the main problems in PR.And that is showing the middle finger to the leaders of PR who have outlived their welcome.

Even the pakchiks,makchiks,ah peks and tangachis know that even if Hudud is tabled in parliament,the bill is DOA.Umno is not going to back Hudud,that is if it even cares.Malaysia,to have even a state like Kelantan with Hudud laws will become an instant pariah like Russia,to be snubbed and shunned by the western and civilized world.And that is one thing that every gomen do not want.

So as long as we have an incompetent Umno/BN and an incompetent PR,Umno/BN gets the pussies while PR get the smelly asses.Voters would rather have the devil they know that to have another devil whom they do not know.

The PR have only three more years to get their house in order,and to prove to Malaysians that they are a better alternative to Umno/BN.If they carry on pretending nothing is wrong,come GE14 they will be lucky if able to retain fifty percent of their present seats.

Anonymous,  4 January 2015 at 13:58  

Dato, The future of this country depends on Malays like you and the group of 25.
UMNO is a lost cause. They can't handle a flood and they need a criminal to help out in national security ( joke of the year 2015). Meaning we have an incompetent Home Minister and IGP.
This country is being managed by morons.

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