Kayaks, life jackets and more: Malaysians rush aid to flood-hit

PETALING JAYA • Malaysians have shown what it means to be a part of the country's family, by stepping up to help those displaced by catastrophic floods that hit eight states over the weekend.

Armed with five kayaks and 18 life jackets, Mr Adib Harith said he knew he wanted to offer his assistance after seeing his fellow countrymen pleading for help on social networking site Twitter.

"After reading those tweets, I decided to buy kayaks at Decathlon and go directly to the flood scene to help those people," he said, referring to the sporting goods store.

"I wanted to get all the necessary equipment and help anyone who was stranded," he said when contacted on Monday.

Since he needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to transport the equipment, Mr Adib said he put out a request on Twitter and a woman and her friend offered to help him. They then made their way to Shah Alam in Selangor, one of the worst-hit areas.

Mr Adib, 31, said he knew that he had to pitch in as no other aid was coming. His team managed to transport about 200 people who had been stranded by floodwaters.

"Those who were with me were random people I met on Twitter who had the same intention to help others. We wanted to do so much more but couldn't as we were limited by the amount of equipment we had," he said, noting that they were on site from 1pm on Sunday until 2am Monday.

Mr Adib, a blockchain entrepreneur, also said he was traumatised after witnessing some people losing their lives to the floods.

"There are times when you cannot do anything. People wanted to get out of their houses but without proper equipment, we were unable to bring them out," he said.

At least 17 people had died in the floods as at yesterday, with several still reported missing.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Rabiatul Adawiyah Zaidi offered her house as a place for people to temporarily leave their pets.

"I have pets of my own. I believe that pets should also be rescued and not just humans," she said.

A 31-year-old woman, who wanted to be known only as Kaka, contributed 40 powerbanks.

"The powerbanks donated cannot be compared to the lives of those who were stranded. In this situation, people have to band together and help one another," she said.

Ms Sari Zainal, 26, offered her lorry to transport necessities to relief centres as well as a kayak to ferry those who were stranded.

"I wish I had more lorries and boats to offer. We are also giving out blankets, socks and diapers to the relief centres," she said.

Many Malaysians also took to Twitter to offer their homes for people to shelter in.

A 30-year-old software developer, who wanted to be known as Yi, said he helped flood victims from Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam move into his empty house until the flood waters subsided.

"These people were rescued on Sunday night and had no place to go. As I had a vacant place, I decided to open it up to let those affected by the floods stay there temporarily," he said.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK