JOHOR BARU – Residents of an apartment in Jalan Permas, Permas Jaya here are worried about their safety after cracks began to appear on the brick fence of the parking area and exterior structure of the apartment building, believed to be the aftereffects of the collapse of a nearby cliff that has been eroding for the past six months.
Residents committee chairman Vivian Tan said the cliff collapsed about three metres deep last September due to heavy rains.
She said that more worryingly, the location of the cliff was close to a bend on the main road and could pose a danger to travellers.
“Incidents like this happened in 2014. This time, we (residents) found that there were three holes around the outer fence of this apartment, believed to be the result of soil erosion,” she said when met by reporters at the site of the collapsed cliff today.
Tan said she had submitted a report about the problem to the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB), but no follow-up action had been taken so far.
“We hope MBJB can take immediate action,” she said, adding that residents had been living there for the past 23 years.
Meanwhile, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim said the problem needed to be resolved immediately to prevent a tragedy from happening like in the case of the Highland Towers.
“This is a people's problem… I don't want to cause concern, but we don’t want another Highland Towers incident here. There is a drain under the cliff, so it involves the underground system, which is a serious problem,” he said.
Hassan said he would submit the case to MBJB, the state government, and the Housing and Local Government Ministry to ensure immediate action is taken. – Bernama, March 6, 2021
