Canvas sheets protecting three exposed slopes along Jalan 5/64 in the Bukit Gasing residential area in Petaling Jaya, Selangor are torn and tattered, yet no further action has been taken since these temporary measures were fitted to prevent further soil erosion six months ago.
The bright blue canvas sheets covering three exposed slopes along Jalan 5/64 spotlight the hazards that lay in wait for residents and the public who exercise there, should the hillslope come thundering down.
A double landslide had occurred along the same road (Jalan 5/64) in May 2013 which uprooted trees, damaged cars and rendered that road inaccessible.
The road leading up to the highest point on Bukit Gasing is popular among Petaling Jaya residents, including senior citizens who use it as part of their daily exercise regime.
Particularly busy on weekends, avid hikers and cyclists, too, are familiar with the road and its gradual incline.
A cyclist from Johor, who declined to be named, said he liked the route, but the canvas-covered slopes were foreboding.
A resident, Boon Leng Kaw, who was exercising along the said road wasn’t sure who was responsible for placing the canvas there but remembers it was last December.
Boon said after continuous torrential rains washed away the vegetation and exposed the soil on those slopes, canvases were tightly tucked over them to prevent further soil erosion.
Referring to the canvases that were designed to be a temporary measure, Boon said after a while, the canvas started to tear and the debris from the exposed slopes washed down the road and collected in the drains downhill.
“Until recently, when workmen cleared all the debris that clogged the drains downhill, rainwater would overflow onto the road and neighbouring houses,” he added.
Visible cracks on support beams
Two of the three exposed areas along Jalan 5/64 are right below large houses, one of which is an abandoned project.
A crack on a support beam beneath one occupied house is visible from the road more than three metres below.
A concrete structure of what looks like a section of a wall from an abandoned project site, from where it may have rolled down, has vegetation growing over and around where it lay, at the bottom of the exposed slope.
The bright brown earth beneath the abandoned project is exposed with large portions already washed away leaving the concrete covering that area to overhang emptily.
No details on S’gor high-risk landslide areas
Following a landslide incident in March that claimed four lives in Taman Bukit Permai 2, Ampang, the Selangor government had identified 150 hillslopes in the state that were at high risk of landslides.
However, no further details of the 150 locations nor the progress in mitigation projects were provided since that announcement.
The Hulu Langat District Disaster Committee had ordered 72 houses in that Ampang neighbourhood to be vacated while repair and rehabilitation works on the high-risk slope were carried out.
Pandan Indah state assemblyperson Izham Hashim who reported the state’s finding on the 150 sites three months ago could not be reached for comments.
It is not known if the exposed slopes along Jalan 5/64, Petaling Jaya were included in the list of 150 slopes that were deemed dangerously unstable.
Bukit Gasing state assemblyperson Rajiv Rishyakaran said so far, the 150 high-risk landslide areas in the state had not been discussed in any of the state assembly meetings.
Therefore, he was unable to confirm if Jalan 5/64 was on that list.
PJ riddled with exposed slopes
Rajiv also had not received any complaints on the three sections of exposed slopes along Jalan 5/64 as a potential threat but told Malaysiakini that he would file a complaint with the Petaling Jaya City Council to follow up on the matter.
However, Rajiv explained that if potential small landslips were also included in the list, the number would be far greater than 150.
He said the city council, in the past, had issued notices all over Petaling Jaya.
“This is not unique. Exposed slopes are all over Petaling Jaya and nearly every section in the city has some number of slopes and some number of private houses on slopes.
“Section 14, Section 16, Section 17, SS1 and SS3, all have exposed slopes.
“If they deem, by their professional judgement, that your slope is at risk of causing a landslide, the city council will issue a notice.
“And there are various engineering techniques which private property owners can do to secure their slope,” he explained. - Mkini
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