PAITAN: Residents of Kampung Rancangan Cocos here, who have been affected by floods since Tuesday (Dec 26), are seeking assistance from the government following the damage to their agricultural produce due to the calamity.
Most of the villagers, who cultivate oil palms, can only watch helplessly as their plantations are still inundated.
According to one of them, 65-year-old Rothman Jiha, each time their plantation is flooded, it would take one to two weeks for the floodwaters to fully recede.
“Usually, when it’s flooded, the drains will be clogged, making it difficult for water to flow out,” he said when met by reporters here today.
Rothman is among 31 villagers who had to be moved into the temporary relief centre following continuous rain since Tuesday.
Yesterday, the Sabah State Disaster Management Committee Secretariat instructed all relief centres in Paitan to be closed and the evacuees be allowed to return home.
Another oil palm farmer in the village, Poplin Chinin, 73, said he lost his income from oil palm for this month due to the floods. -Bernama