KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin today said he forgives looters who broke into the supermarket chain’s Taman Sri Muda store in Shah Alam, Selangor during the recent floods.

He said that while he does not condone looting, the looters were probably caught in a desperate situation where their survival was at stake.

"Honestly, I do not support their actions, but in an emergency situation, maybe they did not have a choice and were forced to do so in order to stay alive.

"With an open heart, I forgive them and their actions with the hopes that they did what they had to do to survive because help was late, and not any other reason,” he said in a statement posted on Mydin’s Facebook account.

Ameer said he estimated the damages from the flood and the looting at the Sri Muda Mydin store to have cost the company over RM1 million in losses.

The highly-populated Taman Sri Muda neighbourhood in the Selangor capital was one of the worst-hit areas.

Tens of thousands of Selangor residents have been displaced and are currently being sheltered at disaster relief centres around the state.

Many houses and vehicles were submerged in the floodwaters brought on by persistent and heavy rains that started last Friday.

Ameer told The Star earlier today that Mydin will continue to provide necessary supplies to the local residents displaced by the floods.

Water levels are slowly receding, unearthing the extent of the damage to property and lives. As of midnight, Selangor police confirmed nine people drowned in the state floods.

Shah Alam police chief Assistant Commissioner Baharudin Mat Taib has confirmed that several convenience and grocery stores in Seksyen 15 had been burgled between 1pm and 2pm yesterday.

Apart from Mydin, the other shops that were broken into include KK Mart, 7-Eleven, and Jimat Supermarket.