FLASH FLOODS DESTROY ROSE FARM, OWNER INCURS RM150,000 IN LOSSES

KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Flash floods last Thursday have destroyed a rose farm in Kampung Aur, near Jalan Pantai Ali, causing an estimated RM150,000 in losses to its owner.

Dr Sh Marzety Adibah Al-Sayed Mohamad, 47, said water levels rose abruptly to knee-height, inundating her greenhouse and ruining her crops.

She explained that the flooding, which lasted until yesterday, destroyed 2,000 rose bushes comprising 700 species after they were submerged for an extended period.

"The greenhouse was also severely damaged. A storm with strong winds the day before the flood had shattered and blown off the roof panels.

"The main weakness of rose bushes is their roots; if submerged for too long, they decay rapidly and the plant will die," she said when met at Zety Roses Farm here.

Dr Sh Marzety Adibah, a former lecturer in counselling and psychology at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, said the cleaning and repair work will take several days to complete.

She described it as the worst flood in the decade since she and her husband, 56-year-old Engku Hassan Engku Wok Zin, began operating the farm.

"Previously, the farm, which also houses our café and home, would often experience some flooding, but it was never this severe and the water would only remain for two or three hours.

"This year, however, was completely unexpected. Restoring the infrastructure and replanting will take some time as we essentially have to start from scratch.

“I even have to buy the rose plant seeds myself from Thailand," said Dr Sh Marzety Adibah, who employs 15 staff. 

She shared that her initial foray into rose cultivation began as a passion inherited from her mother, just planting the bushes around her house.

However, she eventually decided to cultivate them commercially after taking early retirement due to a spinal condition.

"During that one year of illness, when I was in a wheelchair, I worked on the roses on a small scale and was surprised by the tremendously encouraging response.

"After I recovered, I decided to leave my job as a lecturer because the business had expanded and required my full attention," she said.

She now gives away free roses to her female customers every Saturday as a tribute to women.

-- BERNAMA