Flood-hit traders auction off goods at half price
FLOODS Traders in Kota Baru auctioned off their goods damaged by floods at almost half price after cleaning their shops since the flood subsided yesterday.
FLOODS Traders in Kota Baru auctioned off their goods damaged by floods at almost half price after cleaning their shops since the flood subsided yesterday.
Nordin Ibrahim, a trader who sells Muslim clothing, said that he was forced to auction his goods at below the market price to clear off stock exposed to flood waters.
“We have to sell them cheap as it is not possible to sell the goods at the normal price. This is just to clear off the goods, there is no profit from it,” Nordin ( left ) told Malaysiakini .
He added that the current calamity had caused him losses of almost RM100,000, which also included a large portion of his clothing goods being donated to victims in Kuala Krai.
“We have sent out a lot (of goods) to the flood victims who have no clothes. We gave it to them for free,” Nordin said.
Apart from clothes, traders were also auctioning off household appliances, shoes and food items.
Residents from the nearby areas were eager to take the opportunity to purchase essential items at bargain prices.
Local resident Azhar Abu Bakar, 40, told Malaysiakini that he was buying food items that were difficult to obtain in the badly flood-hit state.
“I am buying biscuits. Normally a packet costs more than RM3 but today it’s auctioned off for RM1 a packet.
“When people sell cheap, we buy straight away because you would not get this price on normal days,” Azhar ( left ) said as he carried off 10 biscuit packets.
Clearing off mud
Meanwhile, Ermawati Mohd Nawi, 20 ( right ), said the actions of the traders auctioning off their products should be commended as it lightened the burden of the people affected by the floods.
Another local, Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman, 54, said he came all the way from Wakaf Baru, which is some 15km away from Kota Baru, to buy the auctioned merchandise.
“Usually, when I buy this much, I would have spent around RM15 but today I only spent RM5. It’s really cheap,” Ghani said.
Staff from the Public Works Department were seen removing mud from the Kota Baru streets, which were submerged in flood waters a few days ago.
Most of the roads leading into the city have also been cleared and are now open to the public.
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