walking in the rain...

It is always a wet season for the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia in December. I could not  expect otherwise.This year,it drizzled when I was walking to the mosque for Eidul Fitri prayer.It rained when I was at the cemetery later on and it poured when I went to visit my dying relative the next day. Nothing surprises me because I have personally walked for about three kilometres of  flooded road while  the water level was just below my shoulders. That was the worst flood during my life in 1967, but  there was no flood this time- just heavy rainfall on "Hari Raya" days ...

It was no fun to walk in the rain (even with an umbrella) if you are wearing "baju raya".One's dress is bound to get wet;not to mention if you wearing expensive shoes like Gucci or Bally;-) Adults normally do not like to get wet; but not the kids. They love the rain,much more than the ducks love the water...I was no different when I was 8 years old some forty years back in time.

The day was 2nd Shawal,1421-the second day of Hari Raya Puasa.It rained cats and dogs;yet I braved myself and drove our  family 4-wheel drive to Kota Bharu to visit a relative. As I approached the bridge at Pulau Melaka, I saw a young boy,soaking wet and sucking a lolipop,was walking in the rain in my opposite direction. He just could not  be bothered with the rain at all.He was in his own Nirvana-enjoying his lolipop and could not  care less what is going on in this world. How great I told myself if I could be like him again -walking in the rain.

It is a pity that I am not that kid anymore.What saddened me most is the state of water supply in Kelantan.Despite the abundance of rainfall, the state water supply is very much under-supplied. My own mother had to get water from the well dug by my late grandfather. This reminded me of my childhood in the 50's. From the information that I gathered, nothing much had been done by the authority in the last ten years to meet the ever increasing water demand;not to mention the deteriorating water quality from the existing supply. If this were to happen in Kuala Lumpur, it will be chaos and demonstrations. Yet the Kelantan folks still tolerate the situation. Some may even sympathise with state government because the state does not have adequate fund and lack of help from the federal government. A few will blame the federal government for not giving loans or grants to the state to upgarde its water supply.

I was made  to understand from the newspapers that Kelantan needs RM600 million to implement its  immediate water supply projects. By constituition,the state cannot  borrow money from banks or outside parties. The state had tried privatisation, but it did not work out. It would be a real dilema if the federal government is not going to give loans or grants.

Whatever it is,the bottom line is the state economic growth and the public health of 1.5 million people will suffer.
The question is :Who cares?

I posed this question to a 70-year old PAS supporter during a Hari Raya gathering  and he replied: "Kelantan is governed  by three 'governments'-one is led by PAS in Kelantan,the other is federal government by UMNO and the last but not the least is the state bereaucracy." But I said one of them must be held responsible and accountable to the people,especially the PAS government who got overwhelming support during the last election? He replied: Federal and state governments are equally responsible. Why Kedah got the federal loans and we could not?
Since, I do not wish to transgress into a political discourse, I rest my case....

Somehow, deep inside me I am still worried  how would my old mother get her water when her  well runs dry during next dry season? Honestly, I would prefer to be that kid once again walking in the rain....