After heavy rains exacerbated by climate change in December and early January, Malaysia experienced its worst flooding in a decade, killing 54 and displacing more than 70,000 people in seven Southeast Asian states.
Western states, including the capital Kuala Lumpur and wealthy Selangor, were the worst affected by monthly torrential rains in one day, but about seven states across the country were affected.
There were no warnings, we did not have time to pack anything. We just went to high ground and waited for help but no one came
Resident of Shah Alam , Selangor`s capital.
The official response was delayed, and the Malaysians hurried to help each other.
Hashtags like #DaruratBanjir (Flood Emergency) and #KerajaanPembunuh (Murder Government) became popular on Twitter.
It took 36 hours for authorities to deploy a search and rescue mission to the flood-affected area and provide basic necessities such as food to the victims.
The floods were the worst since December 2014 when at least 21 people were killed, and then Prime Minister Najib Razak was criticized for taking too long to return from a golfing holiday in Hawaii and deal with the disaster.
This time it was Ismail Sabri, the country’s third prime minister since 2018, who came under fire over his Perikatan Nasional governments slow response.
