Taman Sri Muda flood victims staying vigilant

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, have not experienced severe flooding since the disastrous December 2021 incident, but they are not letting their guard down.

Thinash Kumar Nair, 43, a
cybersecurity firm sales director who has lived in the area for 14 years, said the sight of his double-storey home being inundated was traumatic.

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"Even though there have been no floods as bad as that over the last few years, every time it rains heavily, the fear returns.

"My family gets anxious and we automatically move our cars to higher ground.

"We also keep emergency bags in our vehicles just to be safe," he told the New Straits Times.

Recalling the tragedy, Thinash said he lost all household contents, including furniture and electronics, and two vehicles.

"It struck 11 months after I spent RM100,000 renovating my house, bringing the total loss to between RM180,000 and RM220,000.

"We were left with nothing except the clothes on our backs.

"After the incident, we only received RM1,000 in government aid and another RM1,000 voucher from a Buddhist charity organisation."

On Tuesday, 50 residents won a suit against the government and several public authorities over the devastating floods.

High Court judicial commissioner Shoba Rajah Dorai Rajah found the defendants fully liable for negligence and related failures.

The residents had sued the government and seven others, claiming that failures in flood management, drainage, weather warnings and disaster response contributed to their losses.

Thinash described the verdict as a crucial step toward public accountability, but added that no monetary compensation could fully restore what was lost.

"I won't say I'm happy, but it is satisfying to know that someone is finally taking responsibility for what happened.

"The money is immaterial. No matter how much they pay, it won't bring back what we lost."

Another resident, Pirakas Sabapathy, 35, said his family lost about RM10,000.

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"I only grabbed some of my daughter's clothes and the computer I needed for work.

"Within a few hours, the water was too high and we lost hope. We just prayed for the rain to stop."

He said his wife, mother and then 1-year-old daughter could only watch as floods destroyed everything on the ground level.

The floods damaged doors, staircase structures and household appliances, including the refrigerator, television and washing machine.

He said while the drainage and riverbank repairs over the last two years had prevented severe recurring floods, heavy downpours still trigger anxiety.

"My mother and grandmother still have that phobia.

"Whenever it rains heavily at night, they cannot sleep without leaving all the lights on.

"Even now, we keep all our essential belongings and clothes on the second floor."

He said they were happy with the court's decision and it showed that they could still get fair compensation.

​Pirakas hoped the state authorities would accept the court's judgment without lengthy appeals, noting that formal assistance arrived far too late during the 2021 disaster.

Their lawyer, James Joshua Paulraj, said the judgment was an important vindication for the residents of Taman Sri Muda, who waited nearly five years for accountability.

"The court recognised that extreme rainfall does not absolve public authorities of their operational responsibilities when reasonable preparation, timely warnings and an effective disaster response could have reduced the harm suffered."

He said the lessons of this disaster must translate into effective measures to prevent residents from suffering the same consequences again.