The two recent dam failures in South East Asia, specifically in Laos and Myanmar, as well as this video, has prompted me to ask whether Malaysia has a federal agency to monitor the integrity of dams.
The proposed Pan Island Link (PIL) 1 in Penang is a viaduct-ed and tunnelled highway and a stretch of it passes through a corridor between the Air Itam dam and the Kek Lok Si temple.
It is imperative that a federal agency is set up to assess potential damage to infrastructure simultaneously with the Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) of proposals for building massive infrastructure proximal to dams, structures/buildings of historic value and settlements of dense population.
Whilst civic society has highlighted the potential risks of tunnelling to buildings and structures, it has not called for a federal monitoring agency to check the integrity of ageing dams nationwide.
The wisdom behind the Malay proverb, "Sediakan payung sebelum hujan" is still relevant today. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.