KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has been urged to empower its slope unit of the Engineering and Urban Transportation Department following cases of landslides in the city recently.
Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said last year alone, she received over 100 complaints of soil erosions in the city from various parties, including the public.
The Segambut member of parliament (MP) said it was vital for the unit to be empowered to ensure that more effective and swift actions were taken to avert more serious effects stemming from landslides.
"Last year, there were over 100 complaints of soil erosion and as we know, there are many slope areas in Segambut and Lembah Pantai.
"We cannot ascertain where else (soil erosion) would happen but as Segambut MP, I hope the engineering department that monitors slope areas will be empowered.
"We have highlighted the matter of strengthening the unit at Dewan Rakyat recently.
"But, I am aware of the challenges in DBKL. They may lack of resources and staff to conduct checks at each slope area," she said.
Yeoh said this after visiting the landslide site at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) in Bukit Tunku here today.
The major landslide struck a slope at the grounds of MACA yesterday and caused a guard post at the academy to collapse.
The incident was said to have happened due to water retention following several days of rainfall which also caused underground pipes to burst.
Yeoh added that she was satisfied with the swift action taken and multi-agency cooperation to handle the tragedy.
"I was informed that the mayor had also came to see the situation. We are lucky that it did not involve human lives.
"The forensic report is underway and we will wait for it before commenting further," she added.
Checks at the scene showed that forensic works were in progress to identify the cause of the landslide.
It involved several agencies such as the Mineral and Geoscience Department, Public Works Department, Fire and Rescue Department, City Hall and Air Selangor.
Since 9am, several firemen were seen going into the landslide area to assess the situation.