As rubbish grows in Kelantan, flood-stricken villagers turn scavengers

The streets of Kuala Krai, Kelantan, are littered with rubbish, ruined furniture and broken items after one of the worst flooding in the nation’s history. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2015.The floodwaters in Kelantan have receded, but now the streets of Kuala Krai are deluged with a flood of a different sort – that of stinking rubbish, ruined furniture, broken items and tonnes of unwanted donated clothes that are spilling out onto the roadsides.Flood victims have emptied their houses and shops to discard items destroyed by the muddy water, but with council services still reeling from the disaster, mounds of rubbish are piled up every few metres and remain uncollected, attracting pests and risking the spread of diseases.But the deluge of discarded items is not bad news for all – for villagers who make a side income out of salvaging and selling scrap items, the growing mounds of rubbish are a goldmine.“For the past six days since the floods receded, I’ve been able to make about RM50 to RM70 a day from gathering metal scraps and other electronic items people have thrown out," said Mohd Syukri Abdul Rahman, 37.“My daily haul is about 400kg and I bring the items to a centre in Kota Baru to sell."Syukri, who hails from Tumpat, was not affected by the floods, but travels to Kuala Krai each day with his two friends to scour the rubbish heaps for salvageable items. Seemingly oblivious to both the scorching heat and the stench, Syukri carefully climbed the mounds of rubbish, stooping now and then to pick out a broken bicycle or twisted bed frame left there by the flood victims.
A house which collapsed during the floods in Kuala Krai. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2015.In Tanah Merah, Hamid (not his real name) told The Malaysian Insider he frequented the riverside with his two young children once a week to find scraps that could be sold, and the flood has yielded more treasure than usual.“A lot of people are throwing out electrical plugs, cables… these can fetch quite a sum," he said, as his children prodded the rubbish on the sand with a stick.Beside him, a woman, who declined to give her name, was picking up pots from the sand and washing them out with the river water.“This is my first time here. I just wanted to try my luck," she said shyly, refusing to provide more details.On Jalan Halimah, near Hospital Kuala Krai, an empty site has been converted into an unofficial dumping ground. Oozing of stench, the mountain of rubbish is impossible to miss as it is located by the main road.Lorries could be seen carrying out the reeking rubbish from the site, but more flood victims continued to dump their items there. Along the road to Gua Musang, the air in certain areas was thick with smoke as some villagers resorted to open burning to get rid of the mounting piles of rubbish.Deeper in the villages, colourful ba
Mounds of unwanted clothing piling up in Kuala Krai. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Afif Abd Halim, January 9, 2015.ju kurung donated by concerned Malaysians lay in numerous discarded heaps by the roadside, some of them still in their soggy, half-open boxes.Locals stepped on the muddied clothes without a care, even as they complained that what they really needed – mosquito netting, water jets to clean out their homes, blankets and tents – were scarce."We're getting too many clothes," said a local named Hamzah Daud, 25, when met at Kampung Manek Urai Lama."At this point, everyone is just taking whatever clothes that are nice and throwing out the rest." – January 9, 2015.