WHATEVER happened to … These three words often escape the lips of Malaysians when recalling the many statements, announcements and plans by the government, local authorities and politicians. Often, there is little follow-up to the publicity and string of announcements after a tragedy or groundbreaking event. The New Straits Times starts a new series today in which we will attempt to answer the ‘whatever happened to…’ question.

By Carol Mugulah

KUALA LUMPUR - After eight-year-old Haseenah Azman was killed when a landslide crushed her home in Taman Harmonis in Gombak on Nov 5, there were calls for stricter rules for hillside development. There were also calls for owners of land on hillslopes to do periodic maintenance work and build better drainage systems so that the water flow could be diverted into drains. It all sounded familiar. Highland Towers. Pos Dipang. Bukit Antarabangsa. Taman Hillview. Gua Tempurung. Taman Harmonis.

Each hillslope tragedy has provoked a strong response from the authorities but, as the New Straits Times found out, not all the plans and statements of intent have been followed through. In 2002,a landslide flattened the Taman Hillview home of former Armed Forces chief Jen (Rtd) Tan Sri Ismail Omar, killing eight. After that, the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council – still bearing the scars from the highland Towers backlash-hurriedly came up with a set of guidelines to prevent slope failure near residential property.

Landowners were told to:
build stronger walls to replace the existing seven rubble wall at the slopes;
build an interceptor drain linking the existing drainage system so that water from the hilly area could be channelled away;
stabilise slopes at risk of erosion;
do maintenance work on their land periodically and systematically; and,
re-channel river flow to the south, avoiding the residential area.

They were also told to submit the structural plans of hillslope dwellings to the local authorities for approval. But Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo noted that fewer than 10 per cent of affected landowners had done so.

“Disasters like this can be avoided if landowners who build their houses on hillslopes seek approval first,” he said. After the 2002 landslide, the Government accepted a proposal to set up a RM149 million Hillslope Management Unit at the Public Works Department. PWD director-general Tan Sri Zaini Omar said the unit was still waiting for funds to conduct extensive geological mapping of landslide-prone areas across the country using the latest technology. He said the mapping process would take years to complete.

“We hope the founds can be made available under a special allocation as soon as possible.” Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Institute of Environment and Development (Lestari) director Prof Dr Ibrahim Komo said a federal agency has to be set up to monitor both public and government hillside projects.

“The Drainage and Irrigation Department monitors floods, why can’t we have a federal agency to monitor hillslopes?” Ibrahim, a geologist on the committee of the Highland Towers’ inquiry, added that the agency should also have power to override state Government decisions on project approvals. Geotechnical engineer and former Institute of Engineers Malaysia president Dr Gue See Sew noted that Hong Kong saw hundreds of deaths before it started regulating the monitoring and maintenance of slopes and enforcing guidelines.

‘Separate agency to check hillslope projects a must’
There must be a separate agency to monitor all hill-slope developments and vet applications for new ones to prevent a repeat of the Highland Towers tragedy which killed 48 people, a prominent geologist said.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Prof Dr Ibrahim Komo said the agency should be made wholly responsible for approving hillside projects. “The agency should also be tasked with monitoring all projects on hilly terrain to ensure that even existing developments are not in any danger of landslide,” Ibrahim, who is UKM’s Institute of Environment and Development (Lestari) director, said the agency should also step in to maintain a hillside project after its contractor was released from the responsibility of managing it.

“There must be someone taking over from the contractor once the six-year liability period expires,” he said. Ibrahim also said existing laws, which placed land matter under the jurisdiction of State Governments, needed to be changed, to enable the agency to assume control over hillside developments. This, he added, was because local authorities, which normally approved plans for the construction of hillside dwellings, lacked the engineering expertise to determine if slopes were stable or vulnerable.

“At least with highways, the concessionaires themselves are responsible and the Public Works Department’s expertise is also required to assess the slope stability. This is not the case for hill-slope dwellings.”