“We Are Living in The Era of Climate Change”: M’sians Tie Deforestation To The Recent Massive Flooding

By Karissa Lund  •  06 Jan 2021 in Features

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If 2020 was not bad enough, 2021’s New Year greeted fellow Malaysians with a horribly massive flood. The heavy rains and thunderstorms are mostly affecting parts of the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia as of 4 January.

The conditions have led to flooding in parts of Johor, Pahang, and Terengganu states, displacing thousands. At least one local died, and two others are missing for now. Reports have also indicated that the flooding blocked major roads, including those connecting Pahang state’s Kuantan and Batu Pahat as well as Kluang and Mersing in the state of Johor.

There were also two landslides reported at Fraser’s Hill, Raub and Kemamang, Terengganu.

Climate crisis in Malaysia: a sneak preview pic.twitter.com/KzG0uK3Sjg

— ⚔️ the Gardenerd Lt M Elona Muskri ⚔️ (@yours_heidi) January 3, 2021

As of yesterday, the flood situation in Perak, Pahang, Terengganu and Selangor has worsened as the number of evacuees in relief centres was reported to be increasing, while Johor and Kelantan saw a slight drop in the number of evacuees.

With all of this devastating news flooding our social media platforms, many Malaysians are bringing up topics like climate change, and mostly – tree logging. Check out what netizens have to say:

be involved in conservation & ur community.

if ur interested to learn more about the policymaking & activism on climate action, u can always follow @MYDclimate & @KlimaAction. in my pinned tweet, there are some resources for u to learn about the climate crisis & NGOs to support!

— freyr (@notsoaidil) January 3, 2021

Don’t blame climate change alone for all the flooding… this is the direct result of uncontrolled logging. There’s nothing to absorb the water, so you’re seeing them as flood.

— Inbaraj (@Inbarajs) January 3, 2021

How do you know when you have left the Malaysian Border? When you see trees pic.twitter.com/tm6U1wjv92

— (@ruffleseed) January 5, 2021

Tempat tak pernah banjir tiba-tiba banjir? Ini antara punca.

Hutan & Bukit bakau ditarah maka tiada lagi tempat tadahan hujan. pic.twitter.com/6q7e3uA5GQ

— Pelabur Bijak ® (@Pelabur_Bijak) January 3, 2021

Aku tahu hampa tahu siapa hampa patut persalahkan bila banjir tiap-tiap tahun jadi.

Ya, kau, aku dan kita semua tahu siapa punya angkara. pic.twitter.com/Y2VqFUo0nl

— Khairi / Kawal Kendiri (@khairizulfadhli) January 5, 2021

It’s a sign from God that Malaysia and its infrastructure is not ready for extreme climate change this would have happened regardless if there was no pandemic luv https://t.co/CkarqV4gF9

— So I am confusion (@ShuckMyBhauls) January 3, 2021

Illegal, uncontrolled logging rampant sangat2 kat Malaysia ni, rasuah bersepah. For the profit of the greedy and in power, fellow citizens pay the price. It’s hard to put monetary value on nature, but when it’s gone, the price to pay to is phenomenal, it starts to claim lives

— Farhana Azmi (@farhanaazmi2495) January 4, 2021

Why is it so hard to understand that “logging = floods” is contained WITHIN climate change? As in, the floods and landslides are one aspect of the whole thing. These are weather events and weather ≠ climate.

CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE BIG PICTURE. We’ve only seen some pixels.

— ⚔️ the Gardenerd Lt M Elona Muskri ⚔️ (@yours_heidi) January 3, 2021

Orang pantai Timur kena faham yang banjir is a man made disaster.

Pembalakan has and will always be a major contributor to banjir.

Wake up and realise that the leaders you have chosen (and one yang Kita tak boleh choose) has been profiting from this activity at your expense.

— Farhan (@lamkanahraf) January 5, 2021

All these banjir can you check inside our jungle please. Our forest supposed to be our water retention area. This is nature telling something is wrong. Really wrong. Apart from climate change.

— Fadza Ishak (@FadzaIshak) January 3, 2021

Kerosakan di muka bumi hasil kerakusan manusia. Lereng bukit digondol dan ditarah tanpa belas kasihan kepada alam sekitar dan kemanusiaan kerana sikap tamak manusia. Apa lagi yang tinggal untuk generasi masa depan? pic.twitter.com/WKqEth2OWm

— Mat Hades (@hadesmelayu) January 3, 2021

It’s clear that Malaysians are worried. A simple Google search will show that deforestation plays a massive role in the flooding equation because trees prevent sediment runoffs and forests hold more water than farms or grasslands.

The flood equation is simple. If a river cannot handle the load of water it is required to carry, it will rise above its banks. This causes floods. The eroded sediment will not only choke rivers but will also cause mudflow that is much more destructive than normal flood water.

As Lionel Perera wrote in an open letter to The Star back in 2014, “There will be some parties who will blame the unexpected weather or global warming for the flood. But deep down, they know that deforestation and illegal vegetable farmers are to be blamed too. If you mess with mother nature, you will have to pay a price sooner or later”.

Looking at how 2021 started, the “sooner or later” is now.

Click here to learn about the climate crisis and NGOs that are fighting against it.

With that, here’s how you can help victims of the recent flooding: