Malaysia has been hit with the most devastating floods the country has seen in a long time.

The floods have displaced over 40,000 people, according to the country’s disaster agency, and reports revealed at least one fatality in every ten missing people. The rivers were above danger levels in nearly 30 locations as of 20 December 2021. The livelihoods of many people, including those of Orang Asli and the poorest of the rakyat, have been destroyed. Arguably, of all the disasters in Malaysia, the floods are the most frequent and bring the greatest damage annually.

How did insurance companies play a role?

Many Malaysians upon being struck by this horrible natural disaster realized that they aren’t as informed as they should be regarding insurance policies. The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (FOMCA) President, Marimuthu Nadason, told Free Malaysia Today that most Malaysians aren’t even aware that their insurance providers even offered natural disaster coverage as companies failed to advise buyers about the product before finalising their purchases.

According to a study conducted by Zurich Malaysia, nearly 74% of homeowners in Malaysia are not covered against flood risk even though the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) believes that approx. 4.8 million people nationwide live in flood-prone areas. This means that only two out of 10 households in flood-prone areas are insured.

As a solution for those affected by the floods, FOMCA said that they would be sending a request to Bank Negara and the government to get them to tell insurance companies to promote natural disaster insurance coverage to the public.

How did the Government deal with the disaster?

Amid the deadly floods, the government said that it is seeking approx. $3m from the United Nations Green Climate Fund (GCF) to develop a national plan to adapt to climate change. The National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) has also come under heavy fire for its failure to coordinate rescue and relief missions during the floods.

On the 10th of January 2022, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid held a joint press conference in Putrajaya.

During this press conference, they announced that an allocation of RM50 million each has been provided to the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) and the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) to rebuild and repair houses damaged by the floods. This has been done under the Rumah Kasih Keluarga Malaysia initiative.

Reezal Merican said that through the initiative, between RM5,000 and RM15,000 had been set aside for the repair of each affected house while RM56,000 would be used to build a new home.

Mahdzir also announced that KPLB has allocated RM50 million to repair damaged public infrastructure in rural areas such as community halls, surau, and bridges.

What now?

Malaysians have been working throughout this horrible time through support from NGOs, Gurudwaras, and more. Though the government has come through, the rakyat hopes that the government will be even better prepared next time. This trying time has brought out the ‘“One Malaysia” spirit stronger than ever.