Flood 'tourists' delaying aid
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Flood "tourists" are causing heavy traffic from Kota Baru to Kuala Krai and Gua Musang and delaying the delivery of aid to the victims.
Traffic police officer Wan Osman Wan Zahari, who was manning the traffic at the Gua Musang exit, said the heavy traffic was mostly caused by those slowing down to take photographs.
“I have been on duty here for four hours or so today [yesterday] and noticed many cars slowing down to take pictures; it is terrible.
“Just here alone, two accidents almost happened because motorbikes were cutting into the emergency lane to snap photos, in turn interrupting the route of the vehicles carrying aid,” he said Monday, adding that vehicles travelling to help flood victims were allowed to use the emergency lane.
Dr Zainad Zulkifli, 29, said the going has been tough.
“My team and I have tried to head into more affected areas like Manik Urai and Gua Musang to give some medical attention.
“On Saturday, we were stuck in traffic for three hours and it was frustrating because we discovered that it was caused by people ‘visiting’ the area.”
He said people should be more sensible as the area was not for show and called for them not block the roads unless they really intended to help.
Meanwhile, AFP reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has contracted a bacterial infection and is resting at home after touring districts hit by the country’s worst flooding in decades, an aide said yesterday.
Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad, Najib’s press secretary, told AFP the prime minister had caught an E.coli infection after criss-crossing the flooded areas last month.
“The prime minister is resting at home,” he said in a text message without elaborating.
E.coli are a large and diverse group of bacteria and most strains are harmless.
Rajbans Singh, president of the Malaysian Wellness Society, said the premier could have been infected after consuming contaminated food or drinks. Some kinds of E.coli can cause diarrhoea, he said.
Th flooding in the northeast of Malaysia killed 21 people. At its height, almost a quarter of a million people had to abandon their homes.
Najib was forced to return early from holiday in Hawaii after he came under fire when he was filmed playing golf with President Barack Obama last month during the disaster.
Angry victims also alleged the government responded slowly, with people in outlying areas stranded without food or drinking water for days. Now that the rains have stopped and the water is receding, many people are returning to clear their mud-filled homes.
