It has been almost eight months since several areas in Ipoh, including my neighbourhood, Lim Gardens, were hit by severe floods in February.
Following that terrible experience, I lodged a complaint with the Ipoh City Council, urging them to redesign the drainage system in flood-prone areas to increase its capacity, and to build several retention ponds in Lim Gardens to hold large volumes of water during heavy downpours.
I also lodged a complaint with the Kinta District Department of Irrigation and Drainage, stressing the need to carry out desilting operations, particularly in the Pari and Kinta rivers to increase their depth and capacity to hold large volumes of water.
My local council responded that the retention ponds proposal would be “referred to the relevant technical departments for further study and assessment in terms of site suitability, technical requirements, the existing drainage system, and the implications for financial allocation”. As for the drainage system, they would “continue to carry out maintenance works on the urban drainage system under the council’s supervision from time to time.”
As for the Irrigation and Drainage Department, they informed me that they would conduct desilting operations “based on the allocation received for the current year”, that the Kinta River Flood Mitigation Plan to “upgrade the Kinta and Pari rivers has been implemented, and that the situation would be monitored from time to time.”
We’re now past mid-October and yet these departments still haven’t taken any action! No retention ponds have been built in Lim Gardens, and its drains are still far too narrow and shallow. As for the Kinta River, part of it runs alongside my neighbourhood, and every time there is heavy rain, its water level rises sharply, whereas during hotter, drier weather, the water level becomes rather shallow. This clearly reveals that no effective desilting operations have been conducted thus far.
The government’s lack of any serious action has been extremely disappointing. The monsoon season is upon us, once again placing Lim Gardens (as well as other areas in Ipoh) at high risk of being flooded. Its residents have been exposed to this risk for decades, clearly demonstrating the deliberate neglect by the Ipoh City Council and Perak state government towards their safety and well-being. How long will the authorities continue ignoring this annual problem?
The excuse of insufficient fund allocations to implement the above actions is completely UNACCEPTABLE! Funds for major issues such as floods must always be readily available. If the government is short of funds, then it is the politicians and relevant department heads who should bear the responsibility of contributing funds by deducting their salaries and allowances. Do not shift this responsibility onto the public.
If the government does not take the above actions immediately, severe floods like the one that hit last February will recur, inflicting hardship again towards Lim Gardens’ residents and damaging property. We deserve much better.
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