COMMENT | Eight takeaways from yet another flood disaster in KL

COMMENT | So massive flash floods hit Kuala Lumpur again yesterday, causing great chaos. It’s yet another debacle in what is supposed to be a “world class” city.

Here are eight key points about this calamity.

1) Some Malaysians delight in disaster

Some people sounded like they were at a carnival when recording the floods. Even outright childish glee could be heard.

This is like the macabre excitement whenever some Malaysians encounter serious accidents. Perhaps this is why the government doesn’t take flood prevention so seriously?

2) The floods were predicted

The day before (March 6), the government’s Meteorological Department (Met) warned of possible flash floods in the Klang Valley. In future, whenever continuous heavy rains are forecast by the Met, the government should force companies to allow office employees to WFH (work from home).

This will avoid damage to vehicles, not to mention immense hardship to motorists. Do we have to wait until lives are lost during such floods before action is taken?

Oh sorry, 48 lives were lost when the cataclysmic floods of December 2021 hit the Klang Valley. Have we learned our lessons?

3) Enough is enough!

From October 2015 to September 2020, KL was hit by flash floods a whopping 48 times. That’s about 10 deluges per year, or almost one every month!

How can we claim to be a “negara maju” (advanced nation) when our capital is flooded every blessed time it rains “too heavily”?

It’s not as if Malaysia lies in some...