Floods: Swift action by father, son save civil servant

In the incident at about 12.50 pm, Ausdi Muhamed, 53 and his son Amir Syafiq, 28 were at their home when they received a phone call from a fellow villager informing that a car had been swept away by floodwaters in the area.

"He asked me to bring along my boat as it was believed that the driver of the car was still in the vehicle. My son and I rushed to the scene, located about one kilometre from our house, in a tractor.

"Upon arriving at the location, we saw a white Perodua Myvi car floating away down the road after hitting a water pipe. My son and I boarded the boat to get to the car.

"At first we planned to break the window to save the driver but we managed to open the door and immediately helped the man to get into the boat," he said when met by reporters at his house today.

It is learnt that the driver of the Perodua Myvi, who is a medical assistant at the Kemaman Hospital in Chukai was on his way to work from his hometown in Bukit Payong near Marang.

Ausdi, who works at the Kemaman Municipal Council, said he and his son took almost 30 minutes to save the civil servant.

"I'm grateful that he is saved. However, the car had to be pulled out of the area with the help the Malaysian Civil Defence Force the Fire and Rescue Department," he added.

Meanwhile, Chukai Fire and Rescue Station chief Mohd Zailani Abdullah said the 27-year-old victim left Marang at 10.15 am today to work the night shift.

"Upon reaching the location, the victim tried to traverse the flooded road but his car was swept away by strong currents, causing him to get stuck in the vehicle for 15 minutes," he told reporters.

He said the victim did not sustain any injury and was taken to the Chukai Police Station to lodge a report on the incident.

Mohd Zailani also advised road users to be cautious and avoid driving through flooded roads to prevent untoward incidents.