Letter to Editor
MUDSLINGING at each other to blame for any casualty is nothing new in Malaysia.
Now it is the Kedah Menteri Besar blaming the water source at Gunung Inas in Baling as the cause of recent flooding in the state while others are putting the blame on a 1,200-hectare durian plantation.
Right from the days of the collapse of the Highland Towers on Dec 11, 1993 in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang to the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide on the Dec 6, 2008 (also in Ulu Klang) and the Cameron Highlands disaster on Dec 16, 2014, land clearing and water-logged situations have been the culprit.
We get excited with brilliant ideas of rapid development without giving a thought of the repercussions but at what cost?
The more we go against nature, the more the price we end up paying. The whole world is crying aloud to save the green but what are we doing – propagating ideas to go green but practice the reverse.
We may compensate those who lost their lives with ringgit and sen but at what price – betrayal of our senses and moral responsibility? Seldom do we take the trouble to investigate thoroughly before deciding.
I can give several examples of wrong planning. One such example is the multi-storey complex that has been built in Seri Petaling. There is already heavy traffic congestion in that area. Double lane parking has become a common sight – right near the police station!
Which brilliant law-maker ever approved such a project? Do they not take into consideration such things as long-term planning and population statistics? Are the requirements only for individuals when they want to build their bungalows?
Another example I can give is the ‘Serene Project’ in Petaling Jaya. Do we need such a high building in that area? Is it not known that the area is already congested?
I wonder what all the town planners are doing in their posh officers. Do they not go around to inspect the status before approving major projects or are they looking into the ‘returns from such approvals’? — July 13, 2022
Dr Gopal Krishna is a senior lecturer with Help University. The views expressed above are purely his own.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
