Slim polls: Of flash floods and 'flash' politicians

SLIM POLLS | Every time it rains heavily, the semi-rural homes in Pekan Trolak, located 7km away from Slim River town, would be engulfed in floodwaters.

Seventy-two-year-old Kuan Ah Song, who was born and raised in Pekan Trolak, said the flash floods have persisted since 1968.

Over the years, many politicians have come and gone but none have resolved the flashfloods plaguing the community, so much so that many have started moving out.

For the community here, where more than 900 people are eligible to vote, they hope the Slim by-election could be an opportunity for their plight to finally be resolved.

"I can still remember in 1968, it was the first time when we were hit by a big flood.

"Since then, it has never been resolved. Every time it rains heavily, there would be a flash flood and it has become worse in recent years," Kuan told Malaysiakini.

Kuan pointed out the many items in his shophouse that had been damaged by floodwaters.

"I have grown tired of having to clean my house every time it floods. After cleaning, it would rain again the next day and then there will be another flood.

"It's better to just do nothing," said a frustrated Kuan.

Kuan said the flash floods started when train tracks were constructed nearby and the waterways were filled up.

Residents give up and move away

Pathma Munusamy, who occupies a shophouse on Pekan Trolak's main road, said many residents have given up and decided to move out from the area.

"Do you see the abandoned houses here? They have moved out because of the floods," said the 68-year-old.

She said complaints to governments and political parties over the years have fallen on deaf ears and their troubles have not been resolved.

"Every time there is a flood, they come to give food. After that, they do not come back.

"There used to be many affected families but they have moved. Now there are at least 25 homes that are always flooded. Why aren't we getting attention?" she said.

Another resident Ramesh Ramachandran said the nearby Sungai Trolak would often overflow and dredging works are required because the river is too shallow.

"In the past, people called it Sungai Trolak (Trolak River). Now they call it the Sungai Trolak Banjir (Flooded Trolak River), because of the frequency of floods in our area," said the 50-year-old driver.

"Construction of houses in the surrounding areas and other development have made this river the only channel to remove water from the area when it rains.

"But it is not well maintained which is the cause of the flood. The river is very shallow. A little rain and the bridge is flooded," he said, pointing to the bridge that was built in 1939.

"We have met everyone, including former YB (Mohd) Khusairi (Abdul Talib). No one is helping us.

"Hopefully, this time, those (candidates or ministers) come to our constituency to get a bulldozer vote (to deepen the river)," he joked.

Mohd Khusairi served as the assemblyperson for 16 years. The Slim by-election was called following his death on July 15 due to a heart attack.

12th Malaysia Plan

Slim is under the Tanjung Malim parliamentary constituency which was held by MCA candidates from 1959 until 2018. PKR vice-president Chang Lih Kang broke that stranglehold in 2018.

Last year, Chang raised the matter of flooding in Pekan Trolak in the Federal Parliament, citing two floods that occurred on Oct 18 and 19.

On Nov 19, the then-Deputy Minister of Water, Land and Natural Resources Tengku Zulpuri Shah acknowledged the seriousness of the problem.

He said that funds would be allocated under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025) for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage to address this critical issue.

Tengku Zulpuri had said that the funds would cover the Sungai Trolak Flood Mitigation Plan for Kampung Trolak Pekan and the Sungai Klah Flood Mitigation Plan for Kampung Felda Trolak Utara and Kampung Klah Baru.

It is unclear whether these plans will be followed through as the Perikatan Nasional government has since replaced the Pakatan Harapan administration that Tengku Zulpuri represented.

Pekan Trolak is one of the 13 voting district centres in Slim with 907 voters.

Of the total voters, 239 are Malays, 83 Chinese, 389 Indians, and 196 others.

During the 14th general election in 2018, the late Mohd Khusairi won the seat by defeating Bersatu's Mohd Amran Ibrahim and PAS' Muhammad Zulfadli Zainal by a majority of 2,183 votes.

The polling is set on Aug 29, with early voting to take place on Aug 25.

Candidates include BN's Mohd Zaidi Aziz, independent candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi, who is backed by ex-premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's unregistered Pejuang party as well as Harapan, and another independent S Santharasekaran.