Nik Imran New Straits Times 2 Feb 11;
KOTA BARU: Saudah Ibrahim can hear the waves gently lapping on the beach when she goes to bed every night at her home in Kampung Pulau Pak Amat.
But the sound does not put her to sleep as many would expect. Rather, she lies awake most nights fearing the moment when the waves would wash her house away.
Saudah's home is barely 30m from the beach which has advanced two kilometres inland over the past 50 years due to erosion.
While many have relocated deeper inland over recent years, Saudah has chosen to continue living there as she does not have the means to move.
"I do not have anywhere else to go as the house is the only property I own," she said, adding that she feared most for her 11 children and grandchildren who share her home.
She said the past week had been the worst as about 1.5m of sand had washed onto her front porch.
She said sea water would usually flood her porch by late afternoon when high tide and strong winds lashed the village.
"It is frightening to hear the sound of winds and the waves that have crashed near my house every night over the last few days.
"I have sleepless nights when this happens.
"For the last three nights, we have been sleeping at a relative's house nearby," she said, adding that the water sometimes entered her home.
Saudah, who inherited the house from her parents, remembered that she had to walk about two kilometres to reach the beach when she was in school.
Then, she said, the area leading to the beach from her house had been covered with thick jungle.
"Even tigers and other wild animals roamed the jungle when I was small."
Decades ago, she said, the villagers cultivated padi besides engaging in fishing activities.
But now, the rice fields are only a distant memory having been taken over by the advancing sea.
She said she had heard that the authorities planned to build a temporary embankment using sandbags soon to mitigate the erosion.
Her neighbour, Siti Zabariah Yusof, 60, said she also faced the same problem.
"It has been normal over the past week to be wading in ankle-deep sea water in our house."
