KUALA Lumpur lawmakers have urged City Hall (DBKL) to relook its town planning system to prevent recurring flash floods in the capital city.

They said authorities should look into a moratorium on development hotspots around KL that could be the cause of the floods.

The MPs are also questioning why KL Mayor Mahadi Che Ngah and Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim have yet to engage them on flash flood issues in the city.

Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said it is crucial that the moratorium on development at flood hotspots be seriously considered.

“So far this has been ignored. There have also been no meetings called by the FT minister to brief MPs on actions taken.

“As a minister he should initiate briefings and meetings and not wait for us to call.”

After Malaysia’s worst flooding in December in the greater Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur was again inundated on March 7, April 25 and May 25.

Several roads in the city were closed following flash floods, which also resulted in a number of vehicles being submerged and damage to properties.

Experts have told The Malaysian Insight that environmental concretisation and overdevelopment are the main factors of recurring flash floods in KL.

Last month, Yeoh said that since the floods in December, lawmakers have pressured authorities to preserve all retention ponds in KL and to urgently implement preventative measures.

This, she said, was to protect the residents from recurrence of flash floods. 

As for new flood prevention measures, she said it should include river maintenance, installation of sirens in multiple languages, and notifications via text message from the National Security Council.

“However, four months later, all these suggestions were found wanting and slow in implementation,” she posted on Facebook.

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said a systematic town planning system for KL does not exist.

“If there is a piece of land available, they (developers) can build as they want because they can get approval from DBKL.

“We have seen this happen in the last decade with some popular developers. 

“The solution to recurring flood issues is for DBKL to set up a special task force to tackle development, especially drainage, before they approve projects.”

He added that DBKL is not doing enough to address the problem. 

“In my past 14 years as KL MP, I saw many mayors and Federal Territories ministers come and go. So, I don’t think they can deliver the reforms we want, as their tenures were too short.

“The solution is to have an elected mayor for at least four years so he can fulfil his duties. At present, the mayor’s term is two years. Before things are done, they retire.”

He also said it is important that the Federal Territories minister engage with MPs.

“In the past four years we only met with the FT minister once on the flood issue and that was last year.

“We want the minister to regularly meet with MPs to discuss issues in KL.”

Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun said the floods have been causing inconvenience for locals and those coming into KL.

He said more efforts need to be carried out on the cleaning of drainage in all areas, especially at tourist spots.

“They should focus on ensuring the drains are not clogged and another issue is they have to look into the traffic congestion caused by the floods.”

Fong also concurred that one of the causes of the flash floods could be overdevelopment in the city.

“Town planning should be done well, not only for the residents but commercial areas as well.”

He also said that any interim measures that are proposed to tackle the floods must be done diligently. 

“It must not be just all talk, action must be taken. There must be someone in charge to ensure they (interim projects) are carried out.

He also said that the mayor and Federal Territories minister should meet all MPs.

“As we are all on the ground, we can give suggestions on the issues. 

“DBKL officials must go down to the ground more often to see what’s happening.” 

Early this month, Mahadi said DBKL would be implementing 14 interim measures at a cost of about RM10 million under the Flash Flood Mitigation Action Plan 2022 from this month to tackle the issue of flash floods in the capital.

Mahadi said the additional incentive is being carried out as an urgent measure before long-term solutions, which are currently being reviewed by the Public Works Institute of Malaysia and expected to be completed next April, can be implemented.

Mahadi said they will focus on monitoring and cleaning works to ensure outlets by the roadside for water to flow are not clogged or obstructed, adding that this will be implemented by the Public Service Delivery Team supervised by DBKL. – May 29, 2022.