PORTAL RASMI
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI
AGENSI PENGURUSAN BENCANA NEGARA
PETALING JAYA: An environmental group has called on the Selangor government to enforce a 25-year logging moratorium, announced in 2010, if it is serious about tackling floods.
Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam (Peka) said the state is still relying on costly river widening and deepening initiatives, while refusing to address the root cause of the floods – logging and deforestation.
“Flood mitigation in Malaysia does not begin with concrete. It begins with stopping the destruction of our forests,” Peka president Rajesh Nagarajan said.
In a statement, Rajesh said forests are not a side issue in flood control but the first line of defence because they absorb rain, control runoff, stabilise soil, and protect river systems.
Removing forests causes water to flow faster, build up more quickly, and overwhelm downstream infrastructure, making floods predictable.
He was responding to remarks by Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim that the state’s flood problems could take four years to resolve.
Rajesh said the state government’s claim that resolving floods would take four years and require massive public spending is “not a statement of necessity”, but “an admission of misplaced priorities”.
He noted that the forestry department had, in 2010, said the state government had imposed a 25-year logging moratorium to preserve forest resources.
He said Selangor could not continue allowing logging, including in water catchment and environmentally sensitive areas, and then expect the public to bear the cost of dealing with the damage.
Apart from imposing a logging moratorium, Rajesh said, the state government should carry out a state-wide reforestation and ecological restoration programme in degraded forest reserves and catchment areas.
It should also enforce environmental laws against unlawful or excessive land clearing. “These are not policy options. They are minimum requirements,” Rajesh said.
Until the state government deals with this contradiction, he said, any four-year flood plan would be “nothing more than an expensive exercise in managing the consequences of its own decisions”.
CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Persatuan Kesedaran Alam Sekitar Cameron Highlands (Reach) mendakwa pembangunan di kawasan cerun menjadi punca banjir lumpur yang berlaku di Habu Heights di sini kelmarin susulan hujan lebat.
Presiden Reach, A. Dilip Martin berkata, kejadian itu sekali lagi menimbulkan persoalan mengenai kelulusan pembangunan, khususnya pembukaan tanah pertanian di kawasan cerun yang sangat curam di sini.
Menurutnya, pihak berkuasa tidak sewajarnya meluluskan aktiviti pembukaan tanah di kawasan berisiko tinggi, termasuk cerun yang melebihi had selamat yang boleh menyebabkan kejadian banjir lumpur.
“Reach berpendapat bahawa pihak berkuasa perlu lebih tegas dan bertanggungjawab dalam proses kelulusan.
“Apabila insiden seperti ini berlaku, tiada pihak yang tampil bertanggungjawab, keadaan ini tidak boleh dibiarkan berterusan,” katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia.
Beliau berkata, Cameron Highlands merupakan kawasan sensitif alam sekitar, dengan kebanyakan cerun diklasifikasikan sebagai Kelas 3 dan Kelas 4 yang tidak boleh lakukan apa-apa aktiviti pertanian atau pembangunan.
Katanya, justeru Reach menegaskan bahawa setiap permohonan pembangunan harus dinilai secara teliti melalui lawatan tapak oleh agensi teknikal.
“Reach menyeru agar semua pihak berkaitan mengambil langkah segera untuk memperketatkan prosedur kelulusan serta memastikan pematuhan yang lebih ketat demi melindungi alam sekitar dan keselamatan komuniti setempat,” katanya.
Beberapa kawasan sekitar Ringlet dan Habu di sini, dilanda banjir lumpur susulan hujan lebat yang melanda kawasan berkenaan kelmarin.
Kejadian menyebabkan air bercampur lumpur melimpah ke atas jalan raya sehingga menjejaskan pergerakan kenderaan di beberapa laluan utama.
Rakaman video kejadian yang tular di media sosial menunjukkan aliran air berlumpur deras memasuki permukaan jalan serta kawasan sekitar, sekali gus menimbulkan kebimbangan dalam kalangan penduduk dan pengguna jalan raya. – UTUSAN
KOTA KINABALU, April 22 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is scheduled to visit Sabah today to assess the situation following a major fire in Kampung Bahagia, Sandakan, which destroyed 1,000 homes on Sunday (April 19).
He is expected to begin his visit to the disaster site near Masjid Kampung Bahagia at 4.20 pm, before meeting residents who lost their homes and are being accommodated at three temporary evacuation centres (PPS).
Anwar will meet victims at PPS Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Gas at 4.35 pm, followed by a stop at PPS Dewan Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Taman Batu Sapi at 5 pm.
His working visit will conclude with a stop at PPS Dewan Lintas Sibuga at 5.30 pm.
The Prime Minister will assess the condition of victims in these temporary shelters while ensuring the smooth management and delivery of aid to those affected.
The fire, which broke out in the water village of Kampung Bahagia, destroyed around 1,000 homes and affected an area of more than four hectares. — Bernama
GUA MUSANG: Siasatan Jabatan Alam Sekitar (JAS) Kelantan terhadap sampel air Sungai Ketil di Taman Rimba, di sini yang menyaksikan ratusan ikan mati Jumaat lalu mendapati tiada unsur pencemaran berlaku.
Timbalan Pengarahnya, Zamzani Ibrahim berkata pihaknya menerima aduan berkenan kejadian itu dan sudah mengambil sampel air pada hari sama kejadian.
"Anggota JAS sudah ke lokasi kejadian pada tengah hari Jumaat namun mendapati air sungai kembali jernih dan tiada bangkai ikan ditemui di kawasan terbabit. Bagaimanapun sampel air tetap diambil untuk pemeriksaan selanjutnya.
"Selepas ujian secara 'in situ' dibuat ke atas sampel air berkenaan, kami mendapati tiada unsur pencemaran ditemui sama ada dari pelepasan air sisa buangan industri dari kilang kelapa sawit atau premis-premis di dalam kawasan perindustrian Gua Musang.
"Sampel air dari sungai sama turut dihantar ke Jabatan Kimia untuk pemeriksaan lebih terperinci dan akan mengambil sedikit masa untuk sampel dianalisis," katanya ketika dihubungi.
Terdahulu media melaporkan ratusan ikan mati di Sungai Ketil di Taman Rimba menimbulkan kebimbangan pengunjung mengenai kebersihan sungai itu.
Zamzani berkata pihaknya juga mempunyai stesen pemantauan kualiti air sungai berdekatan loji rawatan air berhampiran sungai itu bagi menjalankan pemantauan berkala.
"Hasil pemantauan terkini menunjukkan bacaan indek kualiti air sungai masih dalam keadaan bersih dan tiada unsur pencemaran mencurigakan.
"Walaupan bacaan kandungan E-Coli agak tinggi mungkin ia disebabkan oleh unsur-unsur pelepasan dari kumuhan manusia atau haiwan," katanya.
PETALING JAYA: Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has expressed regret over the state government’s continued failure to address the persistent floods in the state.
In a Sinar Harian report, Sultan Sharafuddin said the problem had been ongoing for years, with his advice on the matter seemingly ignored.
Flood-related losses in Selangor stood at RM52.9 million last year, more than double the RM22.6 million recorded in 2024.
“Funds are allocated to address flooding every year, but the results remain unsatisfactory,” said Sultan Sharafuddin.
“The people continue to be affected, particularly those in residential areas,” he said at the opening ceremony of the fourth session of the 15th state legislative assembly at the Selangor state secretariat building.
He reiterated that the state government must prioritise solving the state’s flood problem, including by formulating comprehensive short-, medium-, and long-term action plans.
The sultan also ordered that the Klang river be cleaned to ensure a sufficient supply of clean water for the people, in line with the state’s growing population.
He said he would not stop calling for action until the state’s flooding and water supply issues were fully resolved.
The sultan also said he frequently received complaints from the people regarding the government’s failure to address the basic issues affecting them.
He called for a more systematic, integrated, and effective approach so that such problems would no longer recur.
The ruler said he also wanted the state government to ensure that its policies always prioritise Selangor residents.
“Do not just speak without action, and do not let the people lose trust in you,” he said.