COMMENT | Umno enforced ‘indecent proposal’ - monsoon GE15
COMMENT | Between 2001 and 2021, there had been 49 flash floods in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. These statistics are offered by the National Auditing Division. The same department which confirmed something was wrong about 1MDB at one stage.
The three-day non-stop rain on the west coast and east coast of Peninsula Malaysia between December 15 and 18 last year was indeed a national catastrophe.
The total rainfall came to a gargantuan 2,500 millimetres, which is the total of the entire annual rainfall of 2020!
COMMENT | Between 2001 and 2021, there had been 49 flash floods in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. These statistics are offered by the National Auditing Division. The same department which confirmed something was wrong about 1MDB at one stage.
The three-day non-stop rain on the west coast and east coast of Peninsula Malaysia between December 15 and 18 last year was indeed a national catastrophe.
The total rainfall came to a gargantuan 2,500 millimetres, which is the total of the entire annual rainfall of 2020!
The floods of December 2021 left more than 53 dead, required the evacuation of about 500,000 people and resulted in an overall estimate of RM6.1 billion in financial losses. A staggering statistics indeed.
Poor preparedness accentuated the problem, even more with the federal government and the state governments pointing fingers at each other.
The people formed their own rescue team; cooked food in gurdwaras, formed people’s #kitajagakita movement to provide help and filled in the void left by the government. Can anyone forget that?
Fast forward, sometime in March this year, the rain that pummelled Kuala Lumpur began again. Within hours, many areas saw flood water rising to the highest levels.
That's just Kuala Lumpur. Ostensibly, the most developed part of Malaysia. The truth is, given the many warnings and incidents of flash floods that had been occurring in Kuala Lumpur and throughout the low-lying areas in Malaysia, politicians should be held accountable for not stopping these man-made disasters.
Yet to ensure their own victory, the top five leaders of Umno, especially its president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, have agreed to push Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to meet the Agong to dissolve the parliament as soon as possible.
Their motivation is not difficult to discern or understand. Umno, in league with PAS and other weak political parties, want the electoral turnout to be as low as possible.
Indeed, this is to impede the people from coming out in large numbers to express the vox populi.
In the 13th general election held in 2013, the total turnout was a remarkable 84.84 percent. However, then-Pakatan Rakyat could not form the government in a national election that was heavily gerrymandered.
This time around, the will of the people would not be anything less than in the two prior general elections. Yet, urging for a general election during the impending monsoon can be considered voter-turnout suppression that violates people’s trust.
The Meteorological Department of Malaysia (MetMalaysia) has predicted that between Oct 3 and November 2022, heavy rainfall will befall the country. If anything, it is going to be more disastrous than before!
The flood situation is going to be the worst ever throughout the country. This finding is corroborated by other regional Meteorological Departments in Asean.
MetMalaysia has further predicted that between Oct 3 and November, perhaps even going into the year’s end, the amount of rain would be merciless.
It is going to be more disastrous than any monsoon that Malaysia has ever confronted before!
Malaysians must stop Umno from making these vicious and vexatious demands. The strength of democracy, in turn, the will of the whole democracy, lies in the willingness of incumbent office bearers to value human lives.
Shariah (maqasid shariah) calls for it - the livelihood of all and sundry. This is the standard practice of all law-abiding democratic leaders and their parties.
Diverting human personnel and assets to organise the all-important GE15 during this critical monsoon period will surely lead to a massive catastrophe, where countless lives and families would be at risk.
This is against the spirit and edict of all religions.
Indeed, the amount of tax payers' money will come to RM1 billion or more just to get this election ready. That is US$237 million of people's money being spent to ensure a general election with a low electoral turnout.
Malaysians should rise up against Umno, PAS or any political parties in league with them to engineer such a dangerous conspiracy to place themselves in office - against the will of the people who would be rooting for a better and more resilient government.
Based on what MetMalaysia had said - that is Malaysia will undergo a monsoon transition phase from Oct 3 and November - Malaysians must stand up to Umno and PAS’ chicanery, and those who back them.
MetMalaysia director-general Muhammad Helmi Abdullah said: “The region will receive weak winds from various directions that are very conducive for thunderstorms, leading to heavy rains and strong winds. This usually occurs in the evenings and earlier parts of the night”.
He added this would be expected in most areas in west coast states and interiors of the peninsula, west Sabah and central Sarawak. All these are areas that the people are already living in fear, and sheer anxiety.
By subjecting them to persistent insecurity that they will not be helped, the Umno supreme council has already put the interest of the “court cluster” against public interest.
It is now the responsibility of all to challenge the will of Umno. Let us all sign the petition to challenge the mendacity of Umno at bit.li/TumpuBanjir - as urged by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.
This is now key to destroying the organised hypocrisy of Umno and PAS that has placed them in the corner of the darkest forces.
Without this massive undertaking, Malaysia will continue to roil in a weak economy, plummeting ringgit and various other problems that can lead to further systemic and structural decay.
As things are, research has found out that Malaysians, starting at the age of 30, must start saving RM3,000 a month for the next 30 years to be able to retire well, without which, they will be paupers in their own country.
Malaysians must rise to fight this inhumanity and self-serving intention of fast-tracking GE15 by Umno-BN and PAS.
It is simply an unimaginable level of human and political indecency! How low can these politicians go?
RAIS HUSSIN is CEO of Emir Research, a think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
