This study explores the resilience of infrastructure and communities in the face of climate change, focusing on the vulnerability of urban infrastructure and its impact on societal tensions. The resilience and interdependence of these systems are crucial, especially for cities in the Global South striving to achieve SDG No.11. Despite the importance of social resilience and community attitudes in disaster management, there is a significant gap in understanding how vulnerable communities behave when faced with unequal access to infrastructure during disruptions. This research examines how perceived inequality affects individual resilience in a Penang neighborhood experiencing a water supply disruption, particularly when nearby areas have resolved their issues. The study utilizes water supply disruption data and employs structural equation modeling (SEM) to quantitatively analyze individual resilience levels in a resettled, marginalized, and vulnerable community in Penang, Malaysia. As one of the first studies to investigate the intersection of ethnicity, perceived inequality, and resilience in Malaysia, the findings reveal that ethnicity plays a significant role in shaping individual resilience, with varying levels observed across different ethnic groups. Furthermore, residents who perceive higher levels of inequality experience greater stress and reduced access to resources, leading to lower resilience, regardless of ethnicity. The research makes three key contributions: (i) validating a resilience framework for assessing the impacts of infrastructure disruptions on achieving safe and resilient cities, (ii) analyzing the roles of adaptability, perceived inequality, and individual resilience in response to climate change, and (iii) comparing resilience among different ethnic groups within a vulnerable community.