The Star, Thursday September 27, 2012

Taskforce to tackle flood problems in Kajang

By VIJENTHI NAIR 

vijenthi@thestar.com.my

A special taskforce has been set up to find permanent solution to the floods in Kajang.

Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman said the special taskforce comprising relevant departments and agencies would be endorsed at the council’s fullboard meeting today.

“Starting October, the team will be working on finding an immediate, short term and long term solution to the series of recent floods that has devastated the people in Kajang,” he said at the monthly public complaints monitoring meeting,

To address the problem of damaged roads caused by leaking cement lorries, MPKj is engaging the public to help catch the culprits in action, in exchange for cash reward.

“If the public can capture photographs showing the cement lorry together with its plate number leaking cement on the road and reports it to us, they stand to receive up to RM500 in cash for each successful action taken against the culprit,” he said.

“The cement lorries on the other hand, will be compounded up to a maximum of RM1,000 if found at fault,” he said.

During the meeting, Hasan also instructed the enforcement officers to check on the complaints by the public on parking lots being hogged by business operators by placing cones or items like unused tyres for their convenience.

“Business operators are only allowed to rent one lot outside their premises in the town area for RM150 per month while for the outskirts, we can consider allocating more parking lots for rent for RM100 per month.

“Hogging of parking lots is contributing to a lot of congestion especially in the commercial area, causing the public to double or even triple parking their vehicles leaving a narrow space for other vehicles to move to run errands.

“We know many are hogging the parking spaces illegally.

“We are aware of the worsening situation.

“Enforcement officer will be making their rounds to check on the complaints soon.

“We are also discussing on installing metered parking system to avoid parking space hogging and allow more parking turnover.

“The majority of the business owners will also be happy with the system because it also means more customer traffic,” he said.

At last, some action. I think the media has highlighted this issue so many times.

Until the next time, cheers.

The Star, Thursday September 27, 2012

MPKj using its own funds to strengthen slope in Taman Bukit Kajang Baru

By OH ING YEEN 

ingyeen@thestar.com.my

THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has appointed a contractor to strengthen the slope in Jalan 12, Taman Bukit Kajang Baru in Kajang.

Speaking to reporters after the council’s monthly full board meeting, its president Datuk Hassan Nawawi Abdul Rahman, said: “We have written to the state government and Housing and Local Government Ministry for funds but we cannot wait any longer, hence we will use council funds amounting to RM2.2mil to strengthen the slope.”

The council has appointed a contractor on Sept 21 and works are expected to begin mid-October and completed in two months.

The council has also appointed a contractor to fix the Sungai Langat bridge near the Batu 11 toll plaza.

Long-awaited: The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) has appointed a contractor to strengthen the slope in Jalan 12 Taman Bukit Kajang Baru, Kajang.

MPKj has borrowed RM3mil from the state government to fund the works.

StarMetro had previously reported that landslips occurred in the area in 2000 and 2005.

In 2010, StarMetro reported that the cost to repair the slope had doubled from the RM1.3mil quoted two years ago to RM2.9mil (“Slope repair costs escalate to RM2.9mil”, Oct 10, StarMetro).

On the recent flood at Taman Sungai Segamat that affected 41 houses, Hassan cited the downpour and obstructed water flow in Sungai Segamat as the factors.

“The council will increase the height of the river bank with sand bags.

“The developer will divert the river flow, deepen the retention pond and carry out desilting,” he said, adding that it would take one month to finish the works.

During the meeting, councillor Zulfikar Ali Ariffin hit out at council officers for their lack of urgency in dealing with the recent floods.

“Residents were questioning me about the flood situation and when I called the department heads, they did not answer their phones.

“I did not know about the technical part of the situation. How was I to answer the people’s queries?” he asked.

The Star, Thursday September 20, 2012

Service centre takes a leaf out of pizza delivery’s book

By THO XIN YI 

thoxinyi@thestar.com.my

TAKING a cue from fastfood delivery, the Kajang 1Malaysia Service Centre is introducing Ops Pizza to “deliver” its service.

The centre’s chief Loh Chew June said the team would meet senior citizens and the physically challenged at their homes or kopitiams to solve their problems.

“Our service centre is located on the second floor, so it might be inconvenient for these groups. We will go to them after they call us to make an appointment,” he said at the launch of the service centre at the MCA building in Jalan Sungai Chua, Kajang.

Regular sessions at kopitiams are also in the pipeline to meet the people directly.

Loh, a fomer Kajang municipal councillor, said he had been operating his service centre since 2003 at various locations, such as Sungai Long, Sungai Chua and the town centre.

At your service: Gan (third from left) launching the Kajang 1Malaysia Service Centre at the MCA building in Jalan Sungai Chua.

He moved into the present office six months ago and renamed the service centre 1Malaysia.

Loh said improving security was one of the key points in their agenda, through the newly launched Kajang 1Malaysia Voluntary Patrol Squad.

About 200 members recruited will be divided into teams to work with police and patrol residential areas at night.

“Self-defence and law workshops will be held for the volunteers,” he said.

Besides urging the state government and the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) to solve the flood problem in Kajang and to improve the road conditions, Loh said he would continue to highlight problems faced by the community.

MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu, who officiated at the event, advised the team to serve sincerely and be patient in dealing with the people.

He also condemned the act of vandalising service centres and spoke out against politics of destruction and hatred.

To contact the service centre, call its hotlines 018-255 9888, 018-277 9888 or 018-371 9888.

The Star, Saturday September 15, 2012

Trader and woman killed — a week after his friend’s murder

KAJANG: A businessman and a woman were murdered in a double-storey house in Taman Segar Perdana here.

 

They were believed to have been killed early on Thursday morning, but their death was discovered only after a friend went to the house at about 10pm.

He dropped by at the house after his effort to contact them was unsuccessful.

Crime scene: The house in Taman Segar Perdana where Leong and Vivien were found murdered.

 

Leong Kian Sheong, 37, and Vivien Wong, 20, were found in a pool of blood in the study room on the ground floor of the house. There were slash wounds on several parts of their body.

Kajang OCPD Asst Comm Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said investigations revealed that there was more than one suspect involved in the double murder.

He said they might have escaped with the victims' watches, jewellery and cash.

“They also escaped in the two vehicles that belonged to the victims,” he said at the scene.

Police believed that the suspects had thought that no one would be home when they entered.

ACP Abdul Rashid said police seized a machete. “We have not ruled out robbery as the motive,” he said.

Police are also checking to see if the killings were connected to another murder case in Bangi last week. In that incident, the body of a man, believed to have been bludgeoned, was found near his car at a road-shoulder off Jalan Mahkota 1.

Wong Sin Keong, 42, had injuries on the head as a result of a blow with a blunt object, apart from bruises on the face. Wong and Leong were friends.

The bodies of Leong and Vivien have been sent to Serdang hospital for a post-mortem.

The Star Metro, Thursday September 6, 2012

Waters rise too quickly

RESIDENTS and business owners in Taman Sri Serdang spent the whole of yesterday morning cleaning up after a massive flash flood hit the area on Tuesday night.

Soggy mattresses and damaged furniture can be seen dumped outside homes while house and business owners got busy cleaning the mud and debris that had washed into their premises.

Jamek Maju restaurant owner Abdul Karim Abdul Rahman, 71, said it started raining about 5.30pm and by 6pm the water level rose rapidly in shops along Jalan 18/45.

To the rescue: Fire and Rescue officers ferrying students and residents to safety during the flash flood in Taman Sri Serdang

 

“We have had floods in this area before but it was never this bad. We could not salvage our stock in time.

“We had to throw out most of the cooked food and items such as sugar, flour and rice. Three of our refrigerators have also been damaged and we are trying to wash the mud of bottled drinks that are not damaged,” he said.

Hikmat Auto worker Rizal Zakaria said the water rose to waist level and most of the cars and machinery in the car repair shop were damaged.

“Most of us had to wait out the floods on the tables of the restaurant next door. The water didn’t subside until about 1am in the morning,” he said.

Plenty to do: Rizal cleaning up the muddy mess outside the car repair shop.

 

Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) public relations senior assistant director Asfarizal Abdul Rashid said the council had deployed about 50 personnel including Emergency Response Team officers and cleaning contractors to help with the clean-up.

“Our priority is to clean up the main roads and we will be picking up the damaged bulk items thrown out of houses and shops.

“We are also helping with the clean-up of SK Sri Serdang that has been closed for a day,” he said.

The Fire and Rescue Department, Parents-Teachers Association and residents’ association committee members were also at the school to clean up the classrooms.

Soaking wet: The shophouses along Jalan 18/45 were inundated with waist-high waters.

 

Seri Kembangan assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah said SMK Seri Indah and SJKC Serdang Baru 2 in Serdang Lama were also badly affected by the floods.

“The Fire and Rescue Department had to use boats to ferry afternoon sesion students who were still in school when the floods hit. Many cars were also damaged. MPSJ was cleaning the area in the morning,” he said.

The Star, Metro, Thursday September 6, 2012

Wet night for Kajang

A downpour in the Klang Valley on Tuesday evening caused flash floods and massive traffic jam. Kajang and Serdang were the worst-hit areas with water reaching as high as 1m in some residential areas. Several schools were forced to shut yesterday to facilitate clean-up.

A clean-up operation was carried out in the outskirts of Kajang after flash floods wreaked havoc on Tuesday evening, forcing more than 200 families to move out of their houses as flood waters reached waist-high.

The Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) sent out a damage assessment team to determine the number of houses and businesses that were affected by the floods.

Inundated: A house near Sungai Ramal during the flash floods on Tuesday evening.

 

Council president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman said the immediate measure was to help residents clean their houses of mud and silt.

“We have sent out a team of 30 men equipped with water jets to clean the affected houses and roads. We are also evaluating damage done to these premises to ascertain the losses.

“Tuesday’s downpour started at 3.30pm and lasted for four hours. Within the first two hours, the rain index was above 60mm according to the Drainage and Irrigation Department’s (DID) alert signal. It reached 113mm at 5.43pm which was classified as a disaster alert,” he said.

Hasan said he was informed of the flash floods by the Kajang police operations room.

Tough job: Many spent the morning cleaning their houses of mud and silt.

 

“DID notified me that water had overflowed the banks of Sungai Langat and Sungai Jelok. The situation worsened as the downpour continued until 7.30pm. Drains around the villages of Kampong Jambu, Taman Muhibbah, Sungai Kantan, Taman Sekamat Kampong Tasik Sungai Chuah, Kampong Paya in Sungai Ramal and Taman Impian Setia at Jalan 8 were inundated with water,” he said.

Hasan said the North-South Expressway opposite Country Heights heading towards Universiti Putra Malaysia was closed to traffic for 40 minutes as it was flooded.

“No one in Kajang was evacuated from their houses to the relief centre as flood waters subsided by 10pm and clean-up had begun in the wee hours of the morning,” he said.

He added that reports found that ponds close to the river had also burst their banks.

A check with the Kajang police showed no reports were lodged on injuries caused by the floods.

The Star, Thursday September 6, 2012

Clogged trash screen at pump house caused Serdang floods

SERI KEMBANGAN: Rubbish clogging the trash screen of the Sg Kuyoh pump house here contributed to Tuesday's flash floods at Taman Sri Serdang.

Drainage and Irrigation Department pump operator Zulkafli Osthman, 41, said the pumps were started once heavy rains began.

“They can usually pump stormwater from the drains in a matter of minutes. But rubbish clogged the screen and water could not enter the pump house to be channelled into the river,” he said at the pump house behind SK Sri Serdang yesterday.

He said the trash rake used to clear rubbish stuck on the screen was malfunctioning and contractors had yet to repair it.

Dirty job: Pupils helping fireman Rozli Mohd Sirun clean one of SK Sri Serdang’s classrooms.

 

“I can't do anything until the rake is fixed. In the meantime, the local council must address the source of rubbish getting into drains,” said Zulkafli.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo, who visited SK Sri Serdang, said Sri Serdang was a natural low-lying area and was prone to flooding.

Meanwhile, overcast skies yesterday put a dampener on the clean-up work of Taman Sri Serdang residents.

The flash floods inundated more than 200 houses and 30 business premises with waist-high water, and residents were worried that more rain could bring more misery.

Rubbish clogging the trash screen at the Sg Kuyoh pump house.

 

Noor Mohamad Shakil Hameed, 35, said before this, floods went no higher than his knee.

“I raised the porch of my house to be one of the highest in the neighbourhood, but the water still made its way into my house,” he said.

SK Sri Serdang acting headmistress Norizan Ab Jabar, 56, said its pupils had the day off because the canteen, bookstore, sick room, art room and 20 teachers' cars were affected by the flood.

The school's afternoon supervisor Siti Hawa Husin, 55, said some pupils who did not know the school was closed ended up helping the teachers and firemen clean up the place.