KOTA TINGGI: Mastura Md Yusof’s hopes for a festive Hari Raya have been dashed after floods swept through her rented home in Kampung Kelantan, Kota Tinggi.
“Everything’s gone…the ingredients for cookies, even the new floor mat I bought for Raya,” said the 55-year-old single mother of five.
Mastura, who suffers from heart disease and back pain, has been unable to work since a fall in 2002. She relies on RM500 in monthly aid from Baitulmal to cover food and rent for the home she has lived in for the past 15 years.
“I’ve lost the spirit to celebrate, but I have to accept this as a test from God,” she said at her home today, resigned to a quiet Raya celebration.
Fellow resident, technician Mohd Afrizat Hamrizan, 33, voiced concern over the unstable weather.
“Flooding is common here and the water takes ages to recede. With the weather still unstable, we worry it could happen again,” he said.
His family, too, plans a subdued Raya, focusing on cleaning their mud-soaked home and replacing damaged items.
As of noon, 13 relief centres in Kota Tinggi had closed, with only two still sheltering 108 evacuees at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sungai Telor and SK Semangar.
Overall, the number of flood victims in Johor has decreased to 10,630 from 11,743 at 10 am today.
