Villagers building raft houses to keep valuables dry

Compiled by RAGANANTHINI VETHASALAM and TAN SIN CHOW

RESIDENTS of Kampung Batu Kapur in Temerloh, Pahang, have started making preparations in anticipation of the year-end floods, after the trauma of the devastating disaster last year, Kosmo! reported.

They are building raft houses to store valuables for when the floods hit.

Aris Abdul Aziz, 60, said his past experience with floods prompted him to prepare early.

He started building a raft house in phases since February, and it cost him about RM2,000.

“(We’ve) had enough with experiencing floods where our things are destroyed and gone with the water.

“The raft house will be tied to a big tree and will house items and furniture during the flood,” he added.

Housewife Normah Othman, 54, used flood aid funds for a raft house that cost RM7,000. Construction began in January and is expected to be completed by November.

“We are fed up with the trauma ... and wanted to prepare earlier this year,” she said.

> A total of 236 people comprising pupils, teachers and staff of SK Kampung Raja in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, came together to stage a procession with a 17m-long Jalur Gemilang in conjunction with the National Day month-long celebrations.

According to Utusan Malaysia, the 1km procession through Kampung Nering ended at the historic Tok Janggut Hall in the village.

The school’s headmaster, Wan Norhabani Wan Yusof, said it took the group a week to complete the flag and the programme was aimed at instilling the spirit of patriotism.

“We also wanted to encourage local residents, specifically those from Kampung Nering and Jeram, to appreciate the spirit of independence. This is also the place where national warrior Tok Janggut was born,” said Wan Norhabani.

The programme was also supported by the school’s parent-teacher association.

> Din – The Day, a movie from Bangladesh which has started screening in Malaysia, has received overwhelming response.

Producer and lead actor Ananta Jalil said tickets were sold out for all the slots for the premier at TGV KLCC.

“I believe a cultural bridge between Bangladesh citizens working here and Malaysians has been built with the entry of the film here,” he said, according to a report by Berita Harian.

“I am of the view that there’s a chance for Malaysian and Bangladeshi filmmakers to work together to produce a film that will appeal to citizens of both countries,” he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Din – The Day is a story of Bangladesh police and Interpol’s mission to cripple an international drug syndicate that targets Bangladeshi migrant workers.

The film is directed by Iranian director Morteza Atashzamzam.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.