KL residents to DBKL: Tell us your flood mitigation plans or we'll sue

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 — Eight Kuala Lumpur residents, led by former Malaysian Bar chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, have demanded the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) provide information on flood mitigation plans for the upcoming monsoon season or face a lawsuit.

In the letter of demand dated September 19 sighted by Malay Mail, Ambiga and seven other residents named Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim and KL mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah as respondents to their demand and told them to furnish the information within five days.

The letter of demand was submitted through the law firm Messrs Lim Wei Jiet.

Besides Ambiga, the other residents named in the letter are Kiu Jia Yaw, Muhammad Taufiq Mohd Razak, Farah Syahidah Shamsuddin, Safiya Spahic, P. Geethananthini, Shah Fariq Aizal Sha Ghazni and Nur Aneesa Mohammad Nizam.

The eight residents said the information demanded is necessary so they and the public can determine if DBKL’s plans are adequate in mitigating the predicted floods during the monsoon season, and if not, so they can provide feedback.

“Such transparency of information is crucial for public awareness and to enable public participation which, in turn, is a cornerstone of good public policy-making. This is especially important for an issue as serious as floods, which has caused untold destruction to lives, livelihoods and property in KL in the past.

“The right to information is also intertwined with every person’s right to a clean, healthy, safe and sustainable environment, and in light of the coming monsoon season which starts in November,” they said in the letter.

To support their claim, the residents cited the Audit-General’s Report published last month on the activities of the federal ministries and statutory bodies.

The residents pointed out that the A-G found that only eight out of 104 or 7.7 per cent of flood mitigation measures proposed in the 2017 master plan have been implemented or are in the process of implementation by DBKL.

“DBKL’s response to the A-G was that another 22 flood mitigation measures would be implemented in 2022. Hence, the KL residents are now requesting to know the current status of the said 22 flood mitigation measures,” the residents said in the letter.

They also said the AG had identified that five short-term mitigation measures proposed in the flood master plan had not been implemented in the highly flood-prone areas encompassing Jalan Tun Razak, Persiaran Ampang Hilir and Jalan U-Thant as of March this year.

The residents said they wanted updates on what mitigation measures have been implemented in those areas listed since March.

Last but not least, the residents also demanded information on “any other flood mitigation measures which DBKL has implemented or plans to implement in order to deal with the risk of flooding in Kuala Lumpur”.