King visits flood victims in Temerloh

TEMERLOH: Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah today visited flood victims in Temerloh, which is among the districts badly hit by the recent disaster.

His Majesty was accompanied by his sons, the Regent of Pahang, Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah, and Tengku Arif Bendahara Tengku Muhammad Iskandar Ri'ayatuddin Shah.

Al-Sultan Abdullah spent some time at the flood relief centre (PPS) at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Cermin here which has 383 victims from 146 families, whose houses have been flooded since Sunday.

An evacuee, Ruziah Md Zain, 68, said this was the first time she had met the King, who enquired about her well-being and gave her a donation.

"After asking about a reddish patch on my foot which has been causing me itchiness the past few days, His Majesty directed a doctor to examine it," said Ruziah, who is from Sungai Dingin here.

Another victim, Siti Aminah Ali, 75, said the King advised her to look after her health. Her house in Kampung Mambang Berulang here was flooded until the ceiling level.

Apart from Bukit Cermin, Al-Sultan Abdullah also went to Kampung Serdang to inspect the post-flood clean-up operations which involved the Istana Negara Disaster Relief Team.

He visited the house of retiree Abd Razak Ariffin, 66, located in front of Sungai Semantan, which was submerged up to the window on the top level of the two-storey house.

Abd Razak said Al-Sultan Abdullah viewed the damage and ordered government officers there to help villagers repair their houses as soon as possible.

"I did not expect His Majesty to enter my house as it is in a very bad shape. It was covered with thick mud and furniture was piled up in the compound as I haven't had time to clean the place because I just returned home this morning.

"Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), volunteers have come to help clean up. Otherwise, I don't think this mess can be cleared even after a week," he said.

Abd Razak said the flood on Sunday was among the worst he had ever experienced, as the water rose rapidly.

He said his family of eight only managed to take along some clothes and important documents to the relief centre.

-- BERNAMA