The end of 2021 was marked by disaster for too many in Southeast Asia. Weather conditions were notably severe in parts of the region, especially for the Philippines due to Typhoon Odette, violently disrupting the lives of more than four million people.
While weather-related destruction was not as severe as in the Philippines, the December 2021 floods in Malaysia displaced tens of thousands. Despite it being one of the worst floods the country has seen, the official response was widely seen as being astoundingly slow, and it was followed by finger-pointing and defensive statements by government agencies.
For the second time in a year, frustrated citizens and migrants took it upon themselves to help one another.
On Twitter, #DaruratBanjir (Flood Emergency) took off, with the hashtag used to highlight SOS alerts, coordinate rescue efforts, and amplify donation drives. A peak of 800,000 hashtag uses is an extremely large figure for Malaysia social media, and should be a wake up call for the government (at federal and state level) and politicians.
Old hashtags such as #KitaJagaKita (we take care of each other) and #RakyatJagaRakyat (the People take care of the People) resurfaced as well, though not to the extent of a boom of #DaruratBanjir messages. Similarly, #KerajaanGagal (failed government) and #KerajaanBangsat made a comeback, with #KerajaanPembunuh (Murderous Government) spiking around the time the first reported death due to the floods was made.
The phrases "DO NOT DONATE TO GOVERNMENT” and “DO NOT DONATE HERE” (typically typed in all caps) have gained significant traction as well. These campaigns were netizens’ response to the Keluarga Malaysia Flood Relief Flood launched on 21 December 2021—many disagreed with the government’s decision to raise funds for flood victims by collecting donations from the public and urged others to donate to reputable NGOs instead. Exasperated Malaysians would later tweet the same advice to Apple CEO Tim Cook when he announced that the tech giant will be contributing to relief efforts to Malaysia and Philippines.
Note: The charts above depict the number of mentions of popular hashtags and phrases used in relation to the December 2021 floods; the bottom chart is the same as the one above, but without #DaruratBanjir (which was used extensively to pinpoint SOS alerts, donation drives, and emergency appeals) for easier analysis. #KitaJagaKita, #RakyatJagaRakyat, and the #KerajaanGagal/Bangsat/Pembunuh hashtags were already used earlier in the year, particularly during the #BenderaHitam (black flag), #BenderaPutih (white flag), and #Lawan (fight) movements, which were triggered after a year of questionable pandemic management by officials.
All in all, public reaction paints a clear indication of a trust deficit in the government. With the disastrous way officials responded during and after the floods, including recent attempts to censor/censure tweets critical of the government, people are wondering how Putrajaya will regain the rakyat’s trust .
In other related observations, the World Bank has not had time to measure the impact from the floods in the country. It has urged Malaysia to continue with its existing income reliefs for another six months, especially for its poor and most vulnerable communities, following the the launch of its Malaysia Economic Monitor December 2021 Edition Report on 21 Dec 2021.
On the issue of problematic policy, politics and the floods: it is unfortunately nothing new. Khor Reports has written about it in The Political-Economy of Land Development (or the Politics of Floods) back in 2018. Climatic changes from a regular to wetter-than-usual weather (La Nina phenomenon, was well known months ago) increases flood risks, and combined with major land development-clearance activities, and dysfunctional federal-state planning (with invariably go-getting state land development projects), flood crises will surely become politicised, especially of this scale and tragedy.
On PalmTrack, we also have a post on the impact of the floods on palm oil supply for both Indonesia and Malaysia. Subscribe to read the full post.