GE15: Flood in Sepang needs long-term solution

SEPANG - Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate in the Sepang Parliament Raj Muni Aiman Athirah Sabu stresses that the district needs a long-term solution to overcome the flood situation.

Aiman said among other things, housing development in flood-prone areas should be reviewed to ensure that drainage and height plans were done more carefully before approval of any projects.

She said Sungai Langat and its smaller streams should not only be expanded but more importantly deepened to accommodate the water which had risen dramatically due to continuous heavy downpours.

"Failure to take the right immediate measures resulted in residents whose homes were often affected such as the 50 houses in Taman Lestari Mewah, near Kampung Semarang which continued to suffer due to repeated flooding.

"The area of the new range of the river should be extended to 4.6 metres from the current 1.5 metres, especially along Jalan KB1 near the residential areas of Taman Permata and Taman Baiduri," she said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Aiman, who is also the PH Women chief, said the residents would also be more confident if the pile of pieces and concrete constructed was not just the land as it appeared now.

She said the drains must always be cleaned especially during the rainy season so that they were not clogged with weeds, dirt or rubbish.

"I would like to offer my services and work with the Sepang Municipal Council (MBS) to ensure that drains are regularly cleaned and if necessary do upgrading works.

"The Selangor government has also approved RM19.1 million to repair the Sungai Langat flood-retaining wall as part of its solution to address the frequent flooding problem in the area," she said.

In relation to this, Aiman said she would ensure that the project was carried out as soon as possible without any delay.

"Finally, a long-term flood mitigation plan must be carried out and implemented immediately to avoid further hardship to the residents of Sepang," she added.