Thanks to favourable weather, Kota Tinggi business owners, workers begin clean-up work

KOTA TINGGI, Jan 10 — The favourable weather in Kota Tinggi this morning was utilised by traders and their workers in the town centre to clean their business premises, which were affected by the recent floods in the area.

Checks by Bernama in the town centre found that most workers were busy cleaning the floors of their premises, filled with mud and debris, even though they were aware that their premises might be flooded again if heavy rain occurs later in the afternoon or evening.

Those interviewed generally considered cleaning the mud-coated floors as a mandatory ritual at the beginning of each year for residents and business owners in this area (due to floods).

The owner of a dental clinic, Dr. T. Kanniappan, in his 50s, said that three dental treatment machines in his clinic were damaged due to the flood that started last Sunday, causing business activities in the town to come to a halt.

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He said that floodwaters in the town centre rose rapidly following heavy rain on that day, preventing him from saving items in his clinic.

“The rain started heavily at 5pm, and I didn’t expect it to become such a severe flood. I then went to Johor Bahru to visit another of my clinics, and when I returned here at 10pm, floodwaters had entered the clinic, and I couldn’t save anything,” he told Bernama at his clinic.

He opened the clinic here in 1996 and described this flood as one of the worst ever to hit the area.

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“During last year’s flood, I managed to make some preparations, and the loss was only about RM30,000, but this time I couldn’t do anything,” he said.

A polyclinic employee, Nur Hidayah Rajimin, 26, said she and other workers started cleaning the premises early to prevent the mud on the floor from hardening and becoming difficult to clean.

“We clean early to make it easier; if we leave it for a long time, the mud will become thick. I know it’s the rainy season now; floodwaters might rise again tonight or early tomorrow. If conditions improve by tomorrow, the clinic may be able to resume operations,” she said.

Meanwhile, a Bernama survey in the surrounding areas found that there were still many people who disregarded safety by going out to play in the floodwaters.

Several individuals were seen willing to ignore their safety, wading through floodwaters to record videos and take pictures for their respective social media, and there were even some who brought their small children with them during these activities. — Bernama