malaysiangALOR GAJAH, Jan 3 — A senior citizen chose to sleep in a lorry after his house in Kampung Belimbing Dalam, Durian Tunggal here was submerged in water about chest level in the floods that hit this district over the weekend to guard his property from being stolen by irresponsible parties.
Othman Baba, 83, said he had never moved to a temporary evacuation centre (PPS) since he started living in the village 17 years ago because he was worried that his house would be broken into by thieves.
As a result, he opted to stay in a lorry belonging to his two sons who run a tent rental business, that was parked a safe distance away.
“Because they don’t have a place to put things, they keep it in a store in my house.
“Worried that the items would be stolen, I chose to sleep in the lorry and did not move to the PPS. Since the floods last Saturday, I have slept in this lorry for two nights,” he said when met by Bernama here today.
Othman said some villagers asked him to move to the PPS but because of the many business items that needed to be taken care of, he decided to sleep in the lorry while waiting for the floodwaters to subside.
He said to get food while ‘staying temporarily’ in the lorry, he would go out to buy it at a shop or wait for food aid from any non-governmental organisation (NGO) or volunteers.
He said that so far his house had been flooded four times since July last year because he lived in a low -lying area and near a river.
“I had built a large bench inside the house to place furniture and electrical items but they were all submerged due to the unusually high water level,” he said.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
