The Aftermath of the Floods in the State of Kelantan - Pics by Radzi

Every year the East Coast of the Malay Peninsular is being bashed by the Monsoon rains that comes off the South China Sea and sometimes the result can be disastrous. For as long as i can remember having spent my teenage years along the east Coast there was never such a bad floods resulting as the one that hit the East coast sates at the end of 2014  -2015.

The reason for the flooding in Kelantan is not just the extensive logging, nor is it God’s wrath or climate change or PAS or Umno Baru. The real reason for the disastrous floods in Kelantan is decades of neglect and under-investment by the government – both state and federal. It is also the people’s lack of will to force Putrajaya to provide the badly needed national funds to build flood defences and develop the state.

 

Concerned individuals and both local and foreign NGOs, have been voicing their fears about the alarming rate of deforestation. These warnings have fallen on deaf ears. -

Mariam Mokhtar

 | January 4, 2015

In a related development, the National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab has warned people against spreading false rumours regarding the flood situation. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/floods-worsen-kelantan-and-terengganu#sthash.0ci5Po5m.dpuf

In a related development, the National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab has warned people against spreading false rumours regarding the flood situation. - See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/malaysia/floods-worsen-kelantan-and-terengganu#sthash.0ci5Po5m.dpuf

TUMPAT-- The floods inundating east coast states in Peninsular Malaysia, especially in Kelantan, have been regarded as extraordinary, and all quarters must view the matter seriously to avoid untoward incidents. -Shahidan Kassim.

Where did all that mud come from? Many believe it was from the hilly region of Ulu Kelantan, following the massive clearing of forest for oil palm plantations and vegetable farming.

“The water rose so rapidly. We ran to higher ground to save ourselves but soon found ourselves trapped there, like on a deserted island surrounded by water with very strong current,”

On January 4, Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said that during the height of the floods, there were two days where the amount of rain was equivalent to the total Kelantan experienced for a month last year.

A senior lecturer at the Earth Sciences Faculty of Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Dr Zulhazman Hamzah, said among the causes of the mud flood was the large scale deforestation of the hilly regions in Ulu Kelantan.