THE Ti-Ratana Welfare Society is urging Malaysians to donate whatever they can to help the victims of the Thailand’s worst floods in decades.
Its founder and adviser, Most Venerable K. Sri Dhammaratana, visited Bangkok with a small group of volunteers to assess the situation and see first-hand some affected areas and the extent of damage.
Malaysian ambassador to Thailand Datuk Nazirah Hussain said they, too, were saddened by the level of loss and tragedy that had inundated the country.
“For now, the central and southern parts of Bangkok are still safe but water will slowly be moving in.
Big help: Dhammaratana (right) presenting the RM10,000 worth of items to Kanokphand (left) for the victims as Nazirah looks on. “The canals are being dredged to divert the water out into the Chao Phraya river,” said Nazirah.
She added that luckily the embassy, located in Sathorn district which is on the south-end of Bangkok, was on a higher ground.
Nazirah said the embassy had received US$1mil (about RM3mil) from the Malaysian government to help with the aid relief.
“We are more than happy to receive the Chief High Priest of Malaysia Venerable Dhamma-ratana who is here to see the situation and go back to Malaysia to help with some relief collection,” she added.
Dhammaratana said anything that happened in Thailand would affect Malaysians nonetheless.
“With donations, we have to be answerable to our Malaysian donors.
“It’s important that we go through official channels, hence our partnership with the embassy which will be distributing the aid together with iCare Thailand, one of the local NGOs based in Bangkok,” said Dhamma-ratana.
Nazirah said Malaysians could be assured of transparency and that all goods donated would not be ‘hijacked’ for other use.
The National Stadium in Thailand has been converted into one of the major relief centres for the flood operation.
Dhammaratana and Nazirah were received by the Sports Authority of Thailand governor Kanokphand Chulakasem who showed the way around the stadium where evacuees were queuing up to register and having their meals.
Next to the stadium is a multi-purpose sports building which has been turned into a temporary shelter housing about 1,200 evacuees.
Dhammaratana later presented RM10,000 worth of goods collected in Malaysia, to Kanokphand.
He later toured Bangkok’s upper northern district of Lat Phrao, where many of its streets have been inundated by floodwaters.
A military truck brought the delegation in, and it has become the most-used vehicle to navigate through the waters.
What were roads have now become rivers, and many shops and even high-end hotels have been closed.
In Ayutthaya province and its ancient Ayutthaya city, the water rose to 3m although it is worse in the lower-lying areas.
Nazirah said the floods were expected to recede only from next month onwards, although waters in some of the northern Thai provinces that were swamped earlier had started to subside.
“For the people in Bangkok the items they need most are probably blankets, mosquito netting and even drinking water.
“What we are also concerned now are water-borne diseases,” she said. She also urged all Malaysians going to Bangkok to keep the embassy informed.
So far, the floods have reportedly claimed more than 530 lives, but the embassy said no Malaysians who are working or residing there were casualties.
Dhammaratana said the Ti-Ratana Welfare Centre would be a collection point for the public or NGOs who wished to donate in cash or kind.
“Several NGOs are participating in this donation drive with us like the Lion’s Club, St John’s Ambulance Malaysia, Pertubuhan Amal Seri Sinar KL and Selangor, as well as Selangor Kim Mooi Association.
“Ti-Ratana will be going back to Thailand in two weeks time from now to forward the donations to the embassy.
The collection drive is held until Nov 22. For details, call Lee 016-3686 766 / 014-9369 235.
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