KUALA LUMPUR – It has been nearly a fortnight since the residents of Kg Palimbayan ran for their lives as landslides hit the village twice – first on December 19 and another the next day.
Now with just their clothes on their backs, most of them have been sheltering at SK Sg Penchala here while the authorities figure out what to do next.
To add to their frustration and confusion, some names were left out of the RM1,000 government aid when Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim came by to distribute it on Tuesday.
While the villagers vented their frustration at Ali Jaafar, chairman of the Segambut residents’ representative council for Sub Zone 2, he assured that the authorities have been notified.
“I understand why they were upset and angry, as they were all stressed. The missing names from the list were just a mistake.
“I have already contacted those in charge, so hopefully we will be able to fix this,” he told The Vibes.
Aid distribution is not their only complaint.
Resident Hanaffi Maswan said the villagers have yet to receive a concrete answer on when they can return home, or if remedial work has started.
“We are told that the area is under investigation. It has already been 12 days, and we have been hearing speculations like the ground is unsafe, but we still are not given a definite answer.
Other places that were hit by landslides after us have been settled. Highways that were affected a few days before have been repaired. Why is our area still not fixed?”
He said although they are grateful for the government’s help so far, action must be taken more efficiently, and there should be a clearer explanation from the authorities.
“This (landslide) is the first for us, so we want to know what caused it. We have been waiting for 12 days already.”
Meanwhile, Mohamad Mazlan, 47, said they have not been told where the next shelter will be, as they are staying in the school until next week.
“We will only be staying in this school until either the 1st or 2nd of next month, but we haven’t received any news on where we will be placed after this.”
He added that most villagers grabbed whatever they could and ran, as they were cautioned about a possible landslide only briefly before it happened.
“We were only warned about 30 minutes before the incident, so we only had enough time to alert the others.
“I ran to signal to other residents living on higher ground to evacuate.”
A resident, who only wanted to be known as Zarinah, shared: “At that time, it was still raining, and someone found a crack in one of the houses. Not long after, others started saying the same of their houses.”
“So we quickly grabbed whatever bags we had nearby, and about half an hour later, everything collapsed. We could only save ourselves, we couldn’t save anything else.
“We escaped only in our nightgowns,” she recalled.
She added that she has not been able to go to work because her uniform was buried under the rubble.
“Even my uniform is somewhere in the rubble. None of us can go to work.”
On December 20, the Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department reported that at least four houses were destroyed in the landslide.
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah, who visited the victims on December 24, ordered a swift investigation into the landslide incident.
His Majesty said the Kuala Lumpur City Hall had informed him that some of the affected residents will be relocated to the Taman Beringin housing project here.
In total, the disaster affected 284 residents and 94 houses. – The Vibes, December 30, 2021
