2013, a year of tragedies for Malaysia

The incidents which were often followed by sometimes incredulous 'official' explanations have left Malaysians with more questions than answers.

KUALA LUMPUR: The year 2013 has seen a diverse series of ‘tragedies’ in the country ranging from politics, finance, crumbling buildings, accidents, gangland killings, unexplained deaths in custodies and calamities as a result of environmental desecration and climatic change.

The incidents which were often followed by sometimes incredulous ‘official’ explanations have left Malaysians with more questions than answers.

Politically May 5 was defining not so much for Barisan Nasional and the opposition but for the rakyat.

They learnt that popular votes don’t count under the first-past the post system practiced here and that no amount of Black 05 gatherings and rantings on ground and on social media platforms will change the polls outcome.

They also heard that we were heading the Greek-way in terms of ballooning debts and there was really nothing the man on the streets could do because it is increasingly obvious that the rakyat must scrimp and save for the Umno-led government to spend as it likes.

On the streets, post GE13, the Malaysian parliament was told that there has been 230 cases of death in custody since year 2000.

Up until July 2013, Amnesty International noted 12 deaths.

These deaths have yet to be properly explained by the authorities.

Amnesty International in a open letter in July pointed out that police abuses allegedly also took place outside of custody and that they had received a “steady” flow of reliable reports of police using unnecessary, excessive and sometimes lethal force during arrests.

Also in July and August gangland clashes topped the news with reports of dismantled pistols, revolvers smuggled in from Thailand and later sold cheaply here.

As at August this year, there have been at least 35 reported shootings nationwide which left 22 dead.

Killings and drownings

The spike in drive-by shootings and mafia-style killings including the high profile murder of banker Ahmad Hussain Najadi in July saw the police and government lawmakers blaming the abolition of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) in 2011.

They claimed the abolishing the EO had set free 2,600 hardcore criminals and gang members who were now allegedly on rampage.

Also reported in the first half of the year was the tragic loss of three lives in Sarawak.

On May 28, a boat packed with more than 100 people returning home to celebrate the annual Gawai Dayak festival with family and friends capsized after hitting a log.

Three passengers died while others were either rescued by villagers or managed to swim to safety.

The accident in Sungai Rejang near Jeram Giam brought into focus the lack of enforcement on safety issues. Boats and ferries are crucial mode of travel along the mighty Rejang.

The incident also drew attention to the incessant logging activities, legal and otherwise, alongside the river and the state government’s dogged determination to build more dams at ths cost of its indigenous people and environment.

On June 6 four people were killed when a section of the Second Penang bridge, which was under construction, collapsed on a Perodua Kelisa car they were travelling in.

If the first half was not morbid enough, Bernama reported that the country’s worst road tragedy in 17 years was the Genting Highlands crash.

The tragedy on Aug 21 claimed 37 lives.

The crash occurred when the Kuala Lumpur-bound stage bus which ferried 53 people, skidded and plunged 60 metres into a ravine at the 3.5km Jalan Genting Highlands.

Human failings or attitudes

A Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (Miros) study noted, among other factors, that the bus which was going downhill was being driven at break-neck speed, exceeding 50kmph.

The other factor was its dysfunctional brake system.

The rescue operation which followed, involving more than 150 firemen and personnel from various agencies, was hailed as the most organised and efficient.

On Oct 10, a MASWings Twin Otter aircraft crashed in Kudat while attempting to land at the provincial airport.

Two people were killed and 16 others injured in the incident which saw the plane overshoot the airport runway and crash into a house in Kampung Sinsan, killing the co-pilot and a passenger.

Two weeks later the serenity in Cameron Highlands was interupted following a landslide and mud flood in the Bertam Valley.

Three people were killed, one injured and another reportedly missing in the incident which also damaged 80 houses and about 100 vehicles.

The incident occurred after Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), which operates the Sultan Abu Bakar hydroelectric dam power plant di Ringlet, released water from the dam to avoid it from bursting, following continuous rain since Oct 22.

According to TNB the water was released according to procedures.

The fault they insinuated was not theirs but the state authorities which allowed ‘settlements’ buffer zones and the continued apathy among residents.

Post incident cleanup saw tonnes and tonnes of garbage and debri surface.

‘Unusual rainfall’

A week later, on Oct 30, three people returning from a haj pilgrimage were killed and three others were injured when the van they were travelling in, crashed into a lorry at the East Coast Expressway.

Early this month, more than 40,000 residents in Pahang had to be evacuated to relief centres due to flood.

Three people were killed in the floods, said to have been caused by “unusual rainfall”.

The flood caused 1,072 TNB sub-stations to be submerged, resulting in TNB to stop electricity supply to 62,907 consumers.

With just days to go before 2014 descends on us, the rains continue to pelt Malaysia even as other ‘tragedies’ beseige us in the form of arbitrary price hikes in everday goods, utilities and the much speculated looming unemployment situation next year.

Whilst the government continues to shut out naysayers, the reality on the ground is shaping up to prove the authorities wrong.