AS flood waters ravage parts of Peninsula Malaysia over the weekend, netizens yesterday highlighted to the Government that PKR MP Nurul Izzah Anwar had predicted the problem in July itself, with no action taken by the Government.
Today, as Taman Sri Muda in Shah Alam is still inundated with flood waters, netizens were reminded of Selangor exco V. Ganabatirau’s tirade against the state Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) during a visit to the flood-prone area in October.
“Ingat tak video viral beberapa bulan dulu exco marah pegawai JPS? Ingat tak macam mana kata konon tak hormat la, biadab la.
“Sekarang tahu kenapa YB ni marah?” asked Syahredzan Johan.
(Do you remember this video that went viral months ago when the exco criticised JPS officers? Remember how the exco was accused of being rude and uncouth? Now do you understand why the Selangor leader was angry?)
In the two-minute footage that went viral in October, Ganabatirau lost his temper and went on social media to chastise JPS officials for not replacing one of the faulty water pumps at a river located in Taman Sri Muda.
Dari bulan Oktober dia dah jangka Sri Muda boleh tenggelam. Sekali jadi betul 😱.
Sikit punya marah dia kat JPS Selangor.👏🏻 Walaupun aku tak faham isu dia apa😅 tapi apa yang dia marah tu betul la bila dah jadi banjir ni. pic.twitter.com/sRSRpz4Q2c
— Wafiy Ali (@wafty_ali) December 19, 2021
“When I asked JPS officers about it, they said it was faulty and they took it back. I reminded them that this is monsoon season and the Meteorological Department had warned of us heavy downpour in the coming months.
“But it has been more than a week and yet the faulty pump has not been replaced. Few days ago, Taman Sri Muda got flooded.
“This is not a racial or religious problem. Stop this nonsense. Every time I reprimand you guys, I get racial insults and get labelled a communist. This is everyone’s problem.
“And we leaders get accused of being failures when the problem is left not resolved. Allocations have been disbursed by JPS’ officials but they are just sitting on it,” the Kota Kemuning state assemblyman claimed.
When public matters get racialised
Ganabatirau eventually apologised for his tirade after being accused of undermining civil servants, with Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) president Adnan Mat leading the criticism against the DAP leader.
“We want Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari to intervene in this matter so that such incidents will not be repeated in future.
“It’s inappropriate for members of the state government to scold civil servants using social media,” Adnan was reported saying them.
On that note, user Bryan lamented that Malaysians tend to racialise everything, including matters of public policy.
“Honestly speaking. Malaysian always messing up race and religion in managing issue and policy. I bet with this kind of attitude Malaysian never progress in 100 yrs.”
Netizen Semua Sama Sahaa added: “Herein lies the real problem. Bila org marah suruh buat kerja, diorang cakap orang rasis. Tu sbb diorang selalu vote UMNO dan %$%@@ sama tu – sbb semua blh settle.
“Bila jadi banjir… Ooo… Ni semua adalah kehendak tuhan. Geram.”
(When they get scolded for not doing their job, we are accused of being racists. That is why they continue voting for UMNO and their ilk. When flood occurs…they say it’s all God’s will. It just makes me angry) – Dec 20, 2021.
Pic credit: MalaysiaNow
