Forgotten flood victims
Calling generous Malaysian companies. An afternoon tv bulletin yesterday lamented the slow response from corporations in helping out flood victims this time around. Even when the DPM was back in his homestate of Pahang yesterday to visit the flood victims, only one corporation had made arrangements to bring what can be considered substantial supplies that might cheer the victims, according to a source.
"We need more, a lot more corporations, to come forward and help," the source said. Even the DPM made it a point to tell Bernama yesterday that contributions in cash and kind from the corporate sector and NGOs are welcomed (Second wave of flood may lash Pahang on Friday, says Najib - 16 Dec).
As of yesterday, 21 persons had been reported dead in floods that have left nearly 30,000 people in Johor, Pahang and Kelantan homeless.
Pix above is of floods in England last summer. It came with a BBC article headlined Country "ill-prepared" for floods.
With frequent rain storms
ReplyDeletewhy government cannot react prompt
but depending on Organizations to be called?
So many ministries and not even one can well response!
Had DPM called Damai who have 395 NGO and 1.5 million folks he hold?
Or thought of such a big month
could be the cause of raining after spitting too much?
Sdr Rocky's Bru,
ReplyDeleteIf you're in business other than essential services like water and electricity, and bulk commodities like oil and gas, rubber and palm oil, and selling food and addictive items like cigarettes and alcoholic beverages, you know things are not good.
If you've read the latest ABC report, you'll know that sale of newspapers had fallen further. People have less money to spend on non-essential consumer products.
Less private expenditure means less income for corporations and traders. Less income means less for donation. That's the trend. There's also the lack of the "feel good" feeling.
On the other hand the GLCs are not donating as much because they are too busy keeping profits to pay the government and to earn KPI points.
Furthermore, their bosses can't donate as freely because that's not their money.
Some weeks ago, I heard the Iman of the National Mosque urging politicians and civil servants to prepare for the floods by first knowing their localities well so that they can help the victims more easily and speedily. Prophetic isn't it?
In any case Bru, helping the rakyat dalam kesusahan is the most basic FUNCTION of the goverment. We pay taxes and levies everyday of our lives. The Government brags about the economy being in excellent state, so help the flood victims. No need to beg from the private sector.
If the government spends less money on itself, there'll be more money for the rakyat.
But that should not stop us from giving the sadaqah to help fellow beings in need. There are many trustworthy NGOs and selfless voluntary workers that we can channel our assistance through.
Unfortunately, floods tend to happen at year end when the pembesar and top civil servants are busy with their foreign holidays to bother about the flood victims.
Remember the BIG Johor floods last year when a now bankrupt nasi kandar restaurant was "officially" inaugurated in Perth, Australia?
Aduhai...inikah negaraku Malaysia?
Barang dijauhkan bala.
Terima kasih.
What? Expecting the private sector to help flood victims while the govrnment threw away millions to send a spaceflight participant to space? And that spaceflight participant is dubbed an astronaut even though he couldn't conduct a spacewalk outside the ISS?
ReplyDeletei posted this on marina's rantingsbymm earlier
ReplyDeletekristal said...
everybody claiming representing the silent majority or silent minority, whatever.
you disputing the other party and the other party disputing you. typical politicians and self proclaimed ngos. whatever ngos from lawyers to bloggers. the truth is i don't see these lawyers and bloggers helping the flood victims.
i am not a supporter of the present government nor the previous government. BUT i missed tun mahathir.
December 15, 2007 12:24 PM
just wait and see how many will respond to your call. corporations, lawyers, bloggers, activists, bersih, hindraf, damai etc.
apalah org malaysia, kalau dafur ke, kat acheh ke kat indon ke kat bangla ke, punya lah meluas coverage. Siap ada MAWI lagi.
ReplyDeleteKalau kat malaysia, keluar no. bank akaun je.
Anak kera di hutan di susukan, anak kat rumah mati kelaparan.
YEa turn to the rakyat and corps for financial aid when disaster strikes. All these while the taxpayers' money have been fully utilised by the govt for crony projects and whatever not siphoning games.
ReplyDeleteIf the govt has been prudent in its spending, they hv so much more to gv gv to the poor victims.
Go fly WOW la u Najib!
Instead of blaming everybody on the planet, maybe it's a good idea to organize volunteer teams to help out. So far even those who have a lot to complain are not bothered to get the people in their neighbourhood to donate clothes or stuff like that. I guess it's easier to type out angry sentences on a keyboard than to go out there, to do real work. I guess the world is full of men and women of words, but there aren't enough men and women of action.
ReplyDeleteEven the Opposition are pretty quiet when people need them most. I reckon we want the government to solve all our problmes that we don't know how to help ourselves anymore. Oh well, that's just the way it is.
BTW, I am a volunteer. Cakap serupa bikin.
US$65 million set aside to buy a piece of scrap from Russia. Set aside RM12.5 billion to build a white elephant rail;even then if it had started in 2003 upon approval by Tun Mahatir, it would have save RM4.0 billion. RM500 million commission paid by sellers of arms which could have gone to reducing the cost of purchases which could be part of government's savings. RM2.0 billion extra to build the white elephant in Port Klang.
ReplyDeleteAll these are classic examples of excesses of the government. Yet, it is waiting for the private sector to help the rakyat affected by the yearly floods.
Do these politicians have a bit of conscience?
where the heck are the 395 damai's ngo.
ReplyDeletebtw, mohd saiful adil mohd daud & your 1.5 million members...
do your bit man or just get a life !
I come from a kampung in Raub which year after year received flood relief aids for, I undestand, not less than 250 victims. I may be wrong in the exact number of victims being provided with aids since this is quite an old story. Be that as it may, I am positive that the actual number who required aids was merely between 5 to 8 families, depending on the seriousness of the floods suffered in the year concerned. When I was younger, the oversupply of aid seemed to reconcile with the reasoning "better to take the aid in its entirety as the Govt provided us with no other handouts" as announced by the "orang yang dipercayai" then. How naive of me, the others included, for not even raising an eyebrow as to where the rest of the aid would go to !!! Can someone in Raub assure me that this practice has changed ???
ReplyDeleteyeah, and they want to send another Malaysian into space and spend another RM100mil. And they also want to buy the Soyuz. Do you know all these money could be used to:
ReplyDelete1. Help the flood victims, many of whom are school-going children
2. Built hundreds of kidney dialysis centres and provide free and prompt tretament for all. Right now the waiting time is too long. There also not enough nephrologists in government hospitals.
3. Increase financial help for the disabled, especially the blind. Maybe the PM and DPM should take a walk along Brickfields to see the blind struggling. A blind graduate from UM is still unemployed despite overcoming the odds. Many others could be in his shoes.
And many, many more things for MALYSIANS.
Let us not have a government which is full of FORM but NO SUBSTANCE. Like Malaysians say, Kalah tak pa, style mesti mau.
Let's get real and down-to-earth. And not fly to space.
errr. what happened to the tsunami fund? gov announced billions of funds yet none for emergencies?
ReplyDeleteanon 11.50am
ReplyDeletelast check. part of it now forms part of the fixtures of some VIPs. dotn believe, check it out yourself.
Oh floods!
ReplyDeleteThe natural vengeance on the wrong policies
“Take away my natural flow
This is how I punish the people”
The economy of plundering
Never study how it is working
Filling up the natural contours
The natural flows blocked by greedy developments
Now every year the same story
Deaths and destructions
It has become the sad tale
On humans suffering
Asking the corporations
Others to play a part to alleviate the suffering
Is this the solution?
When the root cause has not been addressed?
Treat nature with respect
Understand its laws meandering down the lines
There are inlets and outlets out for the flow
Don’t block it even one finds the pot of gold!
The properties loss and lives gone; it’s payback time
The people too must play their roles
Don’t treat the drains, seas and rivers
It isn’t a dumping ground of one’s wastes
Where is the love of nature gone?
It is greed
The wealth on nature deposits
When will the people learn?
Learn to take responsibility
Nature is the gift from God
anonymous 11:10AM
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the RM35 billion+ that the govt pays out annually for subsidies of one kind or another!
The Spore Straits Times reported today that Yaacob Ibrahim, Spore Minister for Environment & Water Resources, had commented on the republic's plans to build dykes to combat rising water levels due to climate change.
ReplyDeleteYaacob said that studies were being done and they would be completed in about 2 years. It should be determined if this project to build dykes would affect the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea.
Yaacob said that the Spore govt had already contacted the Dutch authorities to tap their expertise in building dykes.
That's forward planning, Spore-style! In Malaysia, we merrily go from one crisis to the next!
Fr ALL bloggers here (12 so far) - it would appear ALL of us seem, in 1 way or another) to agree that
ReplyDelete#1. the responsibility of aiding flood victims should be the Government FIRST,
#2. what the heck happened to the govt accounting for previous donations fr private indiv & corporations?
OFCOURSE the govt knows it is their responsibility to manage disasters
OFCOURSE they know the priority should not be spending on yet another man into space but aiding the majority
BUT are they doing it?
So
DEAREST GREAT OMNIPOTENT LEADERS OF OUR NATION..
Siapa yg bodoh?
In my opinion, I think there's quite a few reasons why the GLC's and other corporations have not started donating yet.
ReplyDeleteOne is because it's almost end of the financial year. The auditors are in auditing them so they don't want any 'unnessary outflow' of funds. This is just my guess, correct me if I am wrong.
Another reason is that major newspapers and the government has not started a 'tabung' yet. In previous flood, once The Star and NSTP started their tabung corporations started contributing as the tabung was given prominent coverage.
Also, this time around, the flood is less shocking as it was the first time around. Major protest rallies in the Klang Valley is sharing headline news with the floods.
Not enough press coverage is given to the need for corporations and private individuals to come out and donate relief items. People assume that the government is handling everything well on its own.
I suggest bloggers instead of focusing all their time talking about rallies and civil rights spend some time organizing relief efforts for the floods too. That's something all Malaysians can unite under... to help other Malaysians.
It would be a good time to setup drop of points in shopping mall as everyone is out shopping for Christmas. People have cash in hand to shop, now is the time to get them to channel some of it to the flood relief efforts.
Anyone care to take up the challenge of organizing this? No police permit needed.
where is silent majority Damai? reason is because Damai doesnt have a majority. if Damai so big so great they wouldve help already. so Damai is just a fake silent majority created by govt to fool us malaysians.
ReplyDeleteWhy call the public to donate to the flood victims. Don't you think charity should starts at home. There are so many millionaires UmnoPutras/Rajahs, I am sure if they chip in a some money it would not cost them a tooth....
ReplyDeletei read with dismay that almost every year end of the year seems that the flood hit M'sia very badly...thousands got to be evacuated...
ReplyDeleteWhy it got to be repeated every year and am thinking about the propert all this ppl had in the house...all was washed away...i'm just wondering the govt did not want to maybe buid high-rise flats...
i never experience flood the whole of my life cos here in singapore though there's almost heavy rain every day...minimal flood...so am just wondering what will happen to me if i'll be in the same position as them...
A KADIR JASIN,
ReplyDeleteWhen people are greedy they don't understand why money called currency!
Current as water to flow!
They see zeros instead of cycles!
Human is in a cycle with birth, age and gone!
Money is only a note to help their cycle and a burden if others are gone!
They forget they are in a society
that lives not money alone!
They are on top because rakyats below
if rakyats not strong then they fall!
Putting $$$ away, surely they see rakyats more
with correct money flow and the flood without being told!!
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteLets put our shoulders together, then the burden will not be too heavy.
I was one of the volunteers who in late 2006/early 2007 helped in raising and collecting of some food & other essentials in Klang Valley and arranged with some friends & other volunteers to deliver the goods to those in need. In average, we made about 8 trips, each trip about 10 fully loaded 4x4s & lorries. We operated under the flag of the Malaysian Red Crescent with which we were all registered volunteers but we operated on our own finances down to fuel and breakdown costs. Somehow, the highway authorities showed some compassion by not forcing us to pay the toll charges especially at the areas that were flooded.
Now, a few members have completed some ground surveys to look into the situation at hand but we are working to build up the supplies now, all by word of mouth and via smses so far. MRCS is planning some relief supplies deliveries that may involve us again as I have contacted some MRCS officers on the ground to inform them of our readiness to assist.
One collection centre is situated in Wisma WIM, 7, Jln Hj Abang Openg, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. (Contact : Mr Song @ 012 3988907)
As with last year, we're collecting foodstuff (non-perishable at this point of time) and other goods (baby diapers, clean clothings etc) No cash (Please forward your cash donations to the MRCS, Jalan Ampang)
I will be glad if this message can be freely displayed into other blogs and such. We also welcome corporate sponsors who would like to be present themselves but lack the logistics & planning. We had strong support from Eau Claire mineral water last year, potable water IS an essential commodity in a flooded community, especially for younger children.
Thank you.
Capt (R) Azhar Lin
0162319750
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteLets put our shoulders together, then the burden will not be too heavy.
I was one of the volunteers who in late 2006/early 2007 helped in raising and collecting of some food & other essentials in Klang Valley and arranged with some friends & other volunteers to deliver the goods to those in need. In average, we made about 8 trips, each trip about 10 fully loaded 4x4s & lorries. We operated under the flag of the Malaysian Red Crescent with which we were all registered volunteers but we operated on our own finances down to fuel and breakdown costs. Somehow, the highway authorities showed some compassion by not forcing us to pay the toll charges especially at the areas that were flooded.
Now, a few members have completed some ground surveys to look into the situation at hand but we are working to build up the supplies now, all by word of mouth and via smses so far. MRCS is planning some relief supplies deliveries that may involve us again as I have contacted some MRCS officers on the ground to inform them of our readiness to assist.
One collection centre is situated in Wisma WIM, 7, Jln Hj Abang Openg, Taman Tun Dr Ismail. (Contact : Mr Song @ 012 3988907)
As with last year, we're collecting foodstuff (non-perishable at this point of time) and other goods (baby diapers, clean clothings etc) No cash (Please forward your cash donations to the MRCS, Jalan Ampang)
I will be glad if this message can be freely displayed into other blogs and such. We also welcome corporate sponsors who would like to be present themselves but lack the logistics & planning. We had strong support from Eau Claire mineral water last year, potable water IS an essential commodity in a flooded community, especially for younger children.
Thank you.
Capt (R) Azhar Lin
0162319750
My apologies if I have double posted. Blog security has certainly taken a turn for the better. Makes it difficult for me to know if it has gone tru or not. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeletePlease find below the address for another collection centre located in Puchong.
Norman Extremeworks Sdn Bhd, No.2, Jln Sri Puchong 2B, Taman Sri Puchong, Bt 12, 47100 PUCHONG, Selangor. (Contact : Mr Norman at 0166000943)
Please feel free to copy and paste this announcements in other BB or blogs.
Thank you.
My support will go to Capt. Azhar and others like him but never never the government-based aids. See what's being done with all the cash donations for the Tsunami victims?
ReplyDeleteThe govt need to keep a hefty sum of money in their pocket for the next coming election..they have so many in their shoping list already... sorry, flood victim not included... daa..
ReplyDeleteAs a Malaysian we should start to realized & be on our own. BN Govt is the last choice to resort for help..you have to sell your soul to these devil for that!
They are like sucking-fucking leeches... next year more money will be spilling from their pocket, from that RM0.40 petrol increase...
Indeed they are bastard nuisance creatures!