Flooded Cars - Used Car Dealers Seek Assistance From the Government To Rebuild Businesses

Used car sellers who have been affected by the flood in Taman Sri Muda, Shah Alam, express their frustration because the government takes no initiative to aid them after losing their businesses to the catastrophe financially.

A used car seller in Taman Sri Muda, Raf said he suffered a loss of almost RM1 million because all his vehicles and office areas were flooded.

“Applying for financial aids from the government will be a complicated process because I have no idea how this thing works”, added Raf.

He also mentioned that throughout his 15 years in the business, the government has never offered assistance to fellow used car dealers. It was evident that the used car market contributes to gross domestic product (GDP).

“There are those who claim that we can get help from small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but I am not sure about the eligibility”, Raf said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the necessary insurance coverage for used vehicle parking sites, the used car dealer admitted that he is not sure if the open space used by the dealers needs to be insured because there’s no information available from the related bodies.

However, he hoped that the government would provide a special place to sell used cars to enable them to run business with peace of mind.

Another used car dealer, known as Zulkifli, agreed with the statement.  Zulkifli, who has been in used cars for almost 30 years, said that he has never received assistance from the government.

“I have to spare at least RM15,000 to RM20,000 to fix a single flood-damaged car. I hope that the government is being more concerned about our situation”, he added.

For the record, over 50,000 cars from eight states have been flooded, especially in Selangor and Pahang that will cost the owners a fortune to get them fixed.