KL residents sue after DBKL's 'poor' reply on flood mitigation

 

A group of eight Kuala Lumpur residents have filed a legal suit against the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim.

This is over an “inadequate response” to a letter of demand asking the authorities to reveal their flood mitigation plans for the capital during the monsoon season.

“DBKL’s response to our letter of demand, by way of a press statement, is that there is an existing Pelan Tindakan Banjir Kilat 2022 and that DBKL and government agencies are mitigating floods based on this plan.

“In our view, the Pelan Tindakan Banjir Kilat 2022 does not contain adequately detailed information on its flood mitigation strategy for Kuala Lumpur, which would allow meaningful engagement, scrutiny, and accountability by the public,” said lawyer Lim Wei Jiet in a statement on behalf of the eight residents.

He added that the city council’s plan, published in May, was drafted before the Auditor General’s report was released in August.

“Hence, it does not take into account the multiple weaknesses identified by the Auditor General in August 2022, which is crucial to mitigate flooding in Kuala Lumpur.

“Simply put, the Pelan Tindakan Banjir Kilat 2022 is an outdated plan which is inadequate to deal with the incoming monsoon season.

“For the above reasons, and due to the gravity and urgency of the matter, we have no choice but to file the suit in court. We hope the judiciary will compel DBKL and the Minister of Federal Territories to provide us with the required information - for the sake of all KL residents,” added Lim, who is also a Muda vice-president.

Earlier this week, Malaysiakini reported that a group of eight KL residents led by veteran lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan issued a letter of demand, threatening to sue DBKL and Shahidan if the information was not disclosed.

The letter - which Malaysiakini sighted - was submitted on Monday (Sept 19). DBKL and Shahidan were given five days to respond.

Enable public participation

Besides Ambiga, the seven other applicants in the information request were Kiu Jia Yaw, Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Razak, Farah Syahidah Shamsuddin, Safiya Spahic, P Geethananthini, Shah Fariq Aizal Sha Ghazni, and Nur Aneesa Mohammad Nizam.

Among the information being sought are status updates on various flood mitigation plans that City Hall and the government promised would be implemented in Kuala Lumpur.

The group said the information was necessary so that the city’s residents could scrutinise the mitigation efforts, ascertain whether they are adequate, and provide feedback.

“Such transparency of information is crucial for public awareness and to enable public participation, which is a cornerstone of good public-policy making.

“This is especially important for an issue as serious as floods, which has caused untold destruction to lives, livelihoods, and property in Kuala Lumpur in the past,” the residents said. - Mkini