Memorable Moments from the Malaysian Flood Crisis

If there’s one thing Malaysians love more than food, it’s our people. The spirit of togetherness that Malaysians share is unparalleled. The recent flood that happened just before we rang in 2022 was a huge example of this.A few notable individuals and groups stood out, and we want to salute them for their compassion!

Azwan Omar
Abang Viva made headlines when he drove his late sister’s Perodua Viva with a boat strapped to the top from Melaka to Selangor when he received news that Selangor was struck hard by the floods. He only had RM50 in his pocket at the time. “Puchong was my first location before going to Sri Muda, Shah Alam,” he said.

“I went there based on the information I received from fellow volunteers, and I would go to areas that haven’t received any type of help and will try to evacuate as many victims as I could.”

More members of the public began donating to the 29-year-old who would buy supplies for flood victims that did not want to move from their homes. Since then, he’s gone on to Temerloh, Mentakab and back to Melaka to help victims of the floods there.

Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya (GSPJ)
Throughout the crisis, GSPJ had been cooking food for the public with as much as 15,000 food packets being sent to victims in a single day. Malkith Singh (pictured below) would be seen cooking all day preparing food for the flood victims.

Volunteers from all walks of life also helped to prepare food and it was a sight to behold! Even former Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zulkifli Mohamad was on site.

GSPJ has also been working closely with other temples to provide aid across the country, most recently assisting the Orang Asli Community in Pahang.

Decathlon
Malaysians praised the bold decision of the French Sports Retail giant for suspending the sales of buoyancy devices and reserving the remaining stock it had for official NGOs and Malaysian authorities.

Decathlon can expect to have more customers in the coming months as netizens expressed their support for the sports equipment giant! Thank you Decathlon for your selflessness in this time of need.

Mosques open to all
Masjid Bandar Bukit Raja in Klang graciously opened its doors for flood victims to seek shelter as the rain poured throughout the night for days. Being situated on higher ground, the newly opened mosque did not suffer much from the floods. Despite not being fully operational, President of the Mosque’s group Mohd Zulkifli made the decision to have the mosque act as a temporary relief centre, housing over 1,000 residents of Klang all throughout the premises.

“This is about humanity. We must help each other without caring about race or religion. My principle is simple. If you’re facing tough times, I’m facing tough times. I’m all right if you’re all right,” he said.

Ourdin
Yes, we are referring to one of the nation’s household names in retail, Mydin. Sri Muda was among the worst hit towns during the floods and out of desperation, many residents broke into the flood-hit store to loot supplies for themselves and their families.

Over 30 individuals were arrested by authorities after being caught red handed looting from a Mydin store in Sri Muda but was promptly pardoned by Managing Director of Mydin Holdings, Datuk Ameer Ali. In a video posted on Mydin’s official Facebook page, he said, "With all sincerity, I menghalalkan (give my permission for) them who stole with the intention of survival because of the delay in aid relief, and not because of other reasons."

Mydin even rode on the viral meme of ‘Ourdin’ and even launched a campaign in that name.

Photos from The Asean Post, FMT, Decathlon Malaysia, @sadhosays, @MYDINMalaysia and @shyafiqdzulkfli