Why build walls when enforcing stricter laws is free?
MalayMail.com has reported that eight Kuala Lumpur (KL) residents led by former Malaysian Bar chairman Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, are threatening legal action against Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) if they do not provide the citizens with information regarding their flood mitigation plans for the coming Monsoon season.
The group has reportedly written a letter of demand dated 19 September 2022 and in it have asked that DBKL provide the requested information within five days or they will sue. The letter was submitted through the law firm Messrs Lim Wei Jiet. The full article on this from Malay Mail is linked here.
The group wants this information as they claim it is a right that the people are entitled to and is linked to our right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. They also want this information to accurately judge whether or not the flood mitigation measures taken by DBKL are effective and to provide feedback if it is not up to par.
This comes as DBKL announced that they would be building ‘flood walls’ at flood hotspots around KL but that begs the question, why? I know I sound like a broken record always asking “why?” for everything that happens here but can you really blame me when there are more effective and CHEAPER options instead?
So instead of wasting even more money and making a volatile economy even worse while racking up more debt, why not just enforce stricter rules? Instead of building a wall, why not just keep all the drains and waterways clear of debris and muck and impose strict fines or penalties on anyone who throws waste into the drains?
I truly believe that this would have been a much better option. Yes, the human element will add some inherent problems but in the grand scheme of things, enforcement is still exceptionally cheaper than building walls so if nothing else, at least the people won’t have to worry about the economy on top of the floods.
By no means am I saying that a flood wall is ineffective, I think it is a good solution, however, I think it is one of those decisions one would make only after all other options have been exhausted since we can still try simpler options like enforcement for now instead of resorting to extreme measures.
Well, I guess it is too late for that now since DBKL has already announced they will be building the flood walls so we shall just have to wait and see if Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and crew are satisfied with this or if they will move forward to pursuing legal action.
Thank you Malay Mail for the information and images.
