From Clement Stanley
What have we learnt from the massive flooding in Selangor over the weekend following the extraordinary rainfall? Quite a bit. Here are my top 10 picks.
1. Whether this disaster was brought about by an act of God is irrelevant. The fact is both the federal and state governments were totally unprepared for a disaster of this scale and of this nature.
2. This disaster brought out the best in the common man. People who are strangers and neighbours came together in the moment of need, regardless of colour and creed.
3. The anger directed at the government from all quarters is real. What is more surprising is that the Malay community in particular has resorted to social media to express their anger at this government which depends on the support of this community to stay in power.
Come GE15 it will be interesting to see who among the politicians will survive this anger.
4. Heroes emerged from our society to help in rescue operations, prepare meals and distribute food in neck-high water. No one did it better than those who gave their time and efforts at the Sikh gurdwara. This group that came together consisted of people of all religions.
5. When it mattered most, it was just a handful of politicians who responded to the situation. The majority of elected representatives and headline-grabbing politicians who are supposed to be the voice of the people went eerily silent, preferring instead to appear in photoshoots as if it was an opportunity to do some campaigning.
6. No one and no government agency wants to accept responsibility for this disaster, preferring instead to resort to the blame game. Because it was a disaster, no one has been brave enough to say that the buck stops with them.
Had it been a winning situation that involved accolades and praise, every one of these decision-makers would have claimed credit for it. Or at least tried to.
7. There are some opposition political leaders who only know how to criticise the government. By doing so, they try to impress you that had they been the government of the day, they could and would have done a better job.
Seemingly, they have the “cure” and ideas on how the situation could have been avoided. It is always easier to see situations and things in hindsight, isn’t it?
8. Precious time was wasted in preparing posters, banners and backdrops showing the formation of “service teams” by political parties. If it was meant to show how quickly these parties could respond to the needs of the people, all it did was to score brownie points at the expense of people in need.
How one’s image on these banners and backdrops help in situations like this will remain a mystery for decades to come. You smile in these banners and backdrops while the people suffer from hunger and are desperately calling for help? That’s incredible!
9. When the rivers were about to break their banks, shouldn’t there have been some kind of warning via the use of sirens or something? If tsunami warnings are proving to be successful, could the same system or at least something like that be used in situations like this?
Instead of building skyscrapers that could potentially become white elephants, wouldn’t it be much better to build levees and bunds by the river banks to prevent another disaster?
10. If you need help, it would be better to depend on NGOs, kind-hearted individuals and your neighbours for assistance. They care. Don’t put your hopes on the government because it simply cannot function without forming committees. And it cannot function because no one has a clear understanding of what are the responsibilities of the agencies they are heading.
Perhaps this is a lesson for all those affected by this tragedy where lives were lost and damages run into the millions. It will go down as a black mark in the history of this nation and be spoken of for decades to come.
And the lesson learnt? Only the people with a caring heart will stand with you and by you in your moment of need.
Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.