BALING: Days after the worst floods in living memory ravaged 12 villages in Kupang on July 4, well-wishers from around the country began descending on this remote area to offer help.
The deluge that killed three people in a family shocked the residents of this village, but volunteers were heartened by their resilience and dignity.
"We met this elderly woman at Masjid Kampung Iboi. The strong currents had swept away half of her house and damaged almost everything in her home. After handing her some essential items, we wanted to pass her some cash to ease her burden.
"However, she looked around and politely turned down the money," said Khalid Abdullah, from Penang.
"She told us there were others who needed the money more than her. It took us a while to convince her that we had distributed the aid to the other villagers who were also as badly affected."
On Thursday, Baling district officer Mohd Shahadan Abdullah shared a story of a villager's honesty and humanity.
He said one of the 17 victims who had lost their home in the tragedy turned down RM3,000 in cash aid from the state government.
The cash was meant to pay six months' rent while the government built new homes for the affected families.
"The victim, from Kampung Iboi, was already listed as one the recipients. However, he told us his family is taking shelter at a community hall in the village, so he did not need the money.
"Instead, he asked us to give the cash to his neighbour, who rented a house in the village just a month before the tragedy struck.
"The neighbour's house was destroyed and all his belongings were lost," Shahadan told Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor who later presented the cash aid to the 17 families.
These stories speak much of the patience of these villagers who had put up with the logging at Gunung Inas since 2008.
Their community water, sourced from the pristine streams flowing from the hills that dot the Baling landscape, had also turned murky.
Many villages in Kupang were depending on the streams for decades as they do not have access to treated water supply.
Things worsened when heavy machinery began terracing the slopes of Gunung Inas for a Musang King plantation in 2018.
Lata Celak, which flows past Kampung Iboi, carried mud and debris into Sungai Kupang, contaminating the water and ruining the lives of padi farmers.
"We gave up padi farming six years ago. The water that we used to draw from the river to irrigate our padi fields was so polluted that the seeds could not grow," lamented Razak Che Ahmad, 62, the chairman of Kampung Iboi's Padi Farmers Unit.
He and the 67 farmers who toiled the 100 relung (28ha) of padi fields in the village had sought help from the state Agriculture Department.
"We were advised to plant corn or other cash crops instead," he said.
For the villagers, the water surge that washed down mud, debris and timber from Gunung Inas was the last straw.
"For years, we had protested against the Musang King plantation.
"The water pollution... the mudslides that struck the villages were signs of a disaster in the making, but we were ignored.
"Now the authorities are telling us that it was a natural disaster. Can you imagine how hurtful is that for us?" asked Razak, who had been living here his whole life.
Two weeks after the tragedy struck, Kampung Iboi Village Development and Security Committee secretary Nor Mohamad Che Hussain was still busy coordinating relief efforts.
"At least 42 houses here are damaged, with nine homes destroyed. We are working with the authorities to sort out the critical issues first, such as water supply and toilets.
"It is crucial to ensure the villagers are getting the basic needs to rebuild their life," he said.
Mohamad, fondly known as Pak Teh among the villagers, was grateful for the help rendered by government agencies, corporate bodies, non-governmental organisations and individual well-wishers.
"We are thankful for the help that we have been getting," he said.
Mohamad acknowledged that the most challenging task was to heal the emotional scars left by the disaster.
"Everyone here is traumatised. The tragedy did not only ravage our homes and take three lives: It also changed our river and our landscape.
"Nothing is normal any more.
"The villagers want answers. They want an assurance that it is safe to return home. They are living in fear.
"They want to know whether it is safe to allow the Musang King plantation to remain on Gunung Inas.
"We are not rejecting development. We understand that the state needs revenue to carry out development for the benefit of the people, but we want to be assured that the authorities will not compromise on our safety."