Several water sports operators based in Batu Ferringhi, Penang, have criticised the government for failing to provide them assistance in the wake of the Dec 26 tsunami, which wreaked havoc on beach front properties.

For all that millions of ringgit have been accumulated from public donations, not a sen has reached these operators whose business activities have been interrupted due to loss of equipment.

Among those claiming to be hardest hit by the disaster, operator A Chandra said he had lost about RM45,000 because of damage to water jet-skis, speedboats, parachutes and a banana speed boat.

Chandra, 38, who has operated a water sports company for the last 10 years, is one of six operators who run recreational activities in Pantai Kilat.

"The authorities and political parties have failed to look into our plight and help us," he alleged, saying that local leaders of a political party had visited him a month after the disaster.

"They said they would find ways to provide financial assistance, but nothing has been given to me or the other operators here."

Chandra said the operators and their workers had escaped death and were able to minimise damage to the equipment after they were alerted to the tsunami by counterparts in Langkawi Island.

"We managed to move most of the boats, water-skis and other equipment before the waves hit us," he said.

Feeling neglected

Another operator, who requested anonymity, accused the government of overlooking the difficulties faced by those providing sports and tourist facilities on the beach.

"We are not complaining about the help given to fishermen. But the government has neglected us especially when we contribute more to the state's economy," said the operator.

The operators managed to repair damaged equipment and resume business about two weeks after the disaster, by utilising their savings and localised donations.

Chandra, for instance, received RM1,800 from the Penang Sports Club, of which he is a member.

However, their income has declined because international tourist arrivals fell following the disaster. Chandra, for example, said he has been losing RM4,000 a month.

"We estimate that our earnings are down by nearly 80 per cent," claimed Zulkifli, who works as a `beach boy'.

The tourism industry is second only to manufacturing as the state's top revenue earner.

"It will take time before we get back on our feet," said another beach boy P Somasundram.

Like him, the other operators anticipate business picking up again between July and September, when tourists from the Middle East are expected to arrive in Penang.

ATHI VEERANGGAN is malaysiakini 's Penang-based stringer.