Speaking to FMT, Shanmugam Murugiah, who has lived in the Shah Alam township for over 20 years, expressed his frustrations over how rescue efforts were handled.

According to him, 999 operators told him to be patient as his family “was not the only one in need of assistance”.

“My family and I were like sitting ducks on our roof. We tried to call 999 for 30 hours straight but our pleas were ignored,” he said.

Shanmugam, 58, recalled coming home from work at 2pm that day. Worried for the safety of his three children, one of whom is autistic, he waded through chest-level waters to get to his family.

They kept over 100 chickens as pets, but Shanmugam had no time to stop and save them. Eighty of them died.

“I mourn the loss of my pets as they are like family to me, but my children’s lives were at stake,” Shanmugam said.

With the ground floor of his house already ravaged by floodwaters, his family had no choice but to climb out of their first-floor window and sit on the roof for the next two days.

Despite their cries for help, the rescue boats that frequently passed by only rescued children, pregnant women and old folks.

The family had given up hope when a neighbour, Muhammad Azri Ibrahim, showed up in a boat, paddling with only a shovel.

Azri had been instructed by his father, Ibrahim Othman, to help Shanmugam and his family.

Shanmugam recalled crying and hugging Ibrahim in gratitude when they met again after their ordeal. “I wept as I told him how he helped us when nobody else did,” he said.

‘I could not just sit by’

Azri explained to FMT that, for their own safety, rescue volunteers had been prohibited from entering the township during the first three days.

So, after taking his parents and sister to Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Sri Muda for shelter on Dec 18, the 27-year-old returned to the residential area four times to help other stranded families.

“I only had one boat, but my neighbours had been stranded for days with no food or water. I could not just sit by and let that happen,” he shared.

Azri paddled for some 3km on his own to get his fellow residents to safety.

For Indonesian-born Sugiarti, climbing out onto the roof was not an option as grilles had been installed on the upstairs windows.

She was stranded in her bedroom with her husband and young son, with nothing to drink except for stale teh O. What little food they had, had been given to their six-year-old.

Sugiarti told FMT they had almost given up hope of ever being rescued until their next-door neighbour, Ajit Singh, showed up outside their windows with his two sons, having swum over from their own roof.

They took turns breaking the grilles with a hammer, allowing Sugiarti and her family to climb out onto their roof.

Despite having been freed from the upstairs bedroom, it took another day and a half – three days in total – before they were rescued. In the end, it was her husband’s relative, Muhammad Soffian, and an unnamed rescuer who helped them.

Now that floodwaters have receded, residents have to face the grim prospect of repairing their washed-out homes, as well as dealing with possible health issues.

Ajit, 54, said that one of his sons is in the hospital with a bacterial infection.

“We had to resort to drinking contaminated water. It was either that or dehydration,” he said.

He explained that he and his sons had returned to the roof of their own home after helping Sugiarti, where they, too, were only rescued three days later.

Ajit’s son Gurmesh, 22, said it was not the authorities who helped them; rather, their fellow neighbours. “We owe our lives to Abu Bakar, who urged Soffian to help us”.

The total estimated losses of the four families amount to over RM300,000.

If you can help, make a cash donation directly into the following bank accounts:

Shanmugam Murugiah
Maybank : 512213055462

Ajit Singh
Public Bank: 4930645630

Nurdiana Abu Bakar
Maybank : 156141401815