TUMPAT: About 70 tow trucks from Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, and Kuala Lumpur are providing free towing services for flood victims whose cars were submerged in floods brought by the annual northeast monsoon.
The free towing services started rolling out yesteday, initiated by the Tumpat police community together with NGOs.
Wan Mohd Izani Wan Hassan, advisor for the Towing Association of Kelantan/Terengganu, said they expect to tow over 200 vehicles in a day.
“All tow truck drivers actually work in unison even though they are from different states. Besides helping the general public, we carry out other charitable work like cleaning up mosques and tahfiz schools affected by the floods,” he said.
Mazni Yahya, a 50-year-old civil servant, said five cars of her family members in Kampung Neting were submerged due to unexpectedly high water levels.
She expressed relief as this programme alleviated the financial burden of having her cars towed by the workshop at a cost of RM900 per trip.
Another flood victim, Ismail Abdul Rahman, 44, said his four cars, which could not be moved in time and went underwater, couldn’t be started and were caked with mud.
He jumped at the free towing service which significantly reduced his expenses, as the floodwaters also damaged many of his electrical appliances. The rapid rise of water going chest-high caught him by surprise too.
Tumpat deputy police chief Ibrahim Hussin said the rapidly-rising floodwaters this year was unexpected and submerged many houses and vehicles as many villagers were caught unaware.
