PETALING JAYA: Exactly two months after the devastating floods that hit many parts of the Klang Valley and several other states, business owners feel there is much more the government can do to help them get back on their feet.
Most are struggling to get financial help for their recovery, and feel that their needs have been forgotten by the authorities after the floodwaters receded.
“Now that the floods are no longer in the news, it feels like what happened and what was promised to us have been forgotten,” said farmer Ahmad Irham Mohd Noor, who lost some 5,000 chilli plants in his 0.4ha farm at Kampung Seri Tanjung in Dengkil.
The 41-year-old said after the floods on Dec 18, officers from the Sepang Agriculture Office came to review his damaged farm twice, followed by the Putrajaya Agriculture Department.
“They gave me some fertiliser that lasted me for about a week.
“I tried contacting the Sepang office again on Thursday night but to no avail,” he said yesterday.
“After such a serious and terrible incident, the government and agencies should hit the ground and check how the victims, including affected businesses, are coping.
“They should do more to help,” he said, adding that he had been relying on his own savings and donations from friends to survive.
Ahmad Irham said he was only able to start growing chilli plants again recently, as cleaning up and re-organising his farm took time, on top of his financial constraints.
“I’m moving the seedling to the polybags tomorrow (today) and I still need fertiliser and insecticide over the next few months,” he added.
Seamstress Hariana Hussin, 42, whose shop in Jalan Mat Raji in Padang Jawa, Shah Alam, was also inundated, said she had only received RM2,000 in compensation from the government because her family home in nearby Jalan Bilal Wondo was also flooded.
“There has been no help for my business,” said Hariana, who saw all her nine electric sewing machines damaged, with only two repaired so far.
“It costs around RM600 to repair one. Now I operate on two machines,” she said.
Many rolls of fabric were also still waiting in the storeroom to be cleaned.
“The cost to clean the fabric alone will be over RM1,000. I have been coping with my own savings, so I have to prioritise.
“We really hope the authorities can at least help us cope,” she added.
Najeebul Husnu Md Sharafath Muneer, 26, who helps at his father’s restaurant in Taman Sri Muda, agrees.
He said it would be good if the government could help ease the burden of businesses.
“We were unable to operate for a month after the floods. The water was ceiling-high and everything was damaged,” he said.
Although the shop has reopened, Najeebul said business was slow and many nearby businesses were still cleaning up.