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KUALA LUMPUR – For those living in Jalan Selangat and the adjacent Lorong Selangat in Cheras here, life in the last three to four decades has been uneventful until last Sunday.
However, the start of the 41-storey behemoth right next to them has been blamed for several safety issues – the most recent being a landslide last Sunday that levelled a corner house and rendered at least eight others unsafe.
At a town hall meeting yesterday morning, chaired by Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, residents took out their frustrations at project developer Metro Kajang Holdings Bhd as some were no longer allowed to enter their houses.
Some even complained of aftershocks that could be felt while they go about their daily home activities.
Speaking to The Vibes, a resident identified only as Wong, 40, whose family has been living in the home opposite the destroyed corner house, also complained of constant sinkholes appearing on his front porch since the construction of the development began several years ago.
He said despite the sinkholes, some with depths of 3 to 4ft (about 1 to 1.2m), engineers appointed by the developers who inspected the sinkholes insisted it was still safe to remain within the house.
“It is as though the engineer was not sure about what they were doing because they kept on telling us the house is safe and that new sinkholes would not appear, but every few months, new sinkholes start to reappear, so I am challenging the developers to their claim that this area is safe to live.
“Nothing happened here for over 30 years until these fellows started to do something, then only the ground started to move,” he said.
Wong, an IT company project manager, questioned the general safety of the next-door development and even alleged developers were aware of the potential risks before construction started.
“About two months ago, the developers had advised us to move out of our homes and that they would settle anything that would happen to the property, and then a couple of months later, this happens.
“I am not sure if I am falsely accusing anyone, but it appears as though the developers are hiding something from us and are not telling us the full story about the risks of living nearby to the site,” said Wong.
Observations done by The Vibes in the area found that entrances into at least eight houses were obstructed by two layers of barriers, owners of which have since moved out.
Several residents had evidently vacated in a hurry, some even choosing to leave their dogs behind, returning only to feed them twice a day.
Also seen on site were surveyors inspecting the site of the collapsed home, presumably from engineering and construction consultants Ikram Sdn Bhd who were appointed to conduct the investigations into the landslide.
Newly appointed residents’ committee chairman, Au Yong, 67, lamented how a project of such magnitude was approved in a site so close to an existing neighbourhood.
“Actually, it should have not been approved, because this is such a high-rise project, and with the digging and pilling, all the soil will naturally flow towards our houses, especially with the heavy downpour Kuala Lumpur has been experiencing lately,” he said.
The retired grocery shop owner who has been living in his home since 1984, said he was rudely awoken from the sounds of the crashing walls in Sunday’s landslide and quickly rushed out of his house to see if anyone needed help.
“The sound of the walls collapsing, it was very loud, and I was sleeping when it happened; thank God I did not suffer a heart attack.”
Au Yong said he then rushed to the scene and alerted those within the next-door house at around 2.30am.
“I asked them to come out of the house quickly, they were all panicking and shivering.
“They even forgot about their relative who is in a wheelchair, so I had to calm them down and assist with getting them out of the house slowly,” he said, relating his experience.
Au Yong, when asked about their offer to sell their properties to the developer, insisted it was a serious offer and not something decided on the spur of the moment.
“If the price is good, of course, we will sell. Yes, it was a serious offer, we were not playing around.”
However, Au Yong and Wong do not appear optimistic about how much they could recoup from the sale of their houses, considering the recent landslide would have knocked down the property value further.
Au Yong said even if they sold their houses for around RM800,000, which is the range of property prices along that street, it would be difficult to find nearby landed properties nearby of similar value.
“We will not be able to get any houses with our current postcode, for that price we cannot even get a condominium. How can we compare getting that amount of compensation when the condominium being built next to us starts at around RM700,000.” – The Vibes, May 25, 2022
