PETALING Jaya City Council (MBPJ) is facilitating foundation repairs and clean-ups near the Lembah Subang People’s Housing Project (PPR), where an unlicensed workshop used for recycling plastic once stood.

The workshop was swept away by a landslide into Sungai Kayu Ara in the wee hours of Jan 15.

The couple attributed the problem to long-standing drainage issues and large cracks in the foundation at the PPR’s multipurpose hall located next to the workshop.

Petaling Jaya mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon said while the PPR falls under the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s (KPKT) jurisdiction, MBPJ had offered to clean up the area in the interest of public safety.

“Repairs are being done to stabilise the riverbank. We are helping with repair works such as piling,” he said.

“By right, the district land office heads district-level disasters. The problem of cracks in the foundation does not fall under MBPJ’s jurisdiction.

“We have discussed sharing the cost for repairs with the National Housing Department,” he said after presenting shopping vouchers to 100 B40 families for school supplies under MBPJ’s social welfare initiative at Mydin USJ in Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Mohamad Zahri said the local authorities have also discussed with the Public Works Department (JKR) and Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) on the scope of work to be carried out at the site.

He added that the recycling workshop was unlicensed. Noorzainny told StarMetro that the workshop Faizul Syam built had helped the Lembah Subang community.

Residents there were remunerated for recyclable plastics they collected, she said.

At the workshop, Noorzainny and Faizul Syam sorted and transformed plastics into items such as coasters and decorative trinkets that were marketed by Upcycled – an initiative by social enterprise Fuze Ecoteer.

Recalling the night of the landslide, Noorzainny said she and Faizul Syam were cooking in their kitchen adjacent to the workshop.

“We had previously noticed cracks on the floor and walls from the workshop area that reached the back of the hall.

That day, within half an hour, the cracks became wider and the floor began sinking,” she said, adding that her husband noticed rapidly flowing water that was visible through the cracks.

Sensing imminent danger, he grabbed her hand and rushed towards the carpark just before the ground collapsed behind them.

Faizul said they managed to salvage a welding machine, which was important to their plastic recycling efforts. He said it would take time to rebuild the recycling workshop at a different location.

“The hall, built 25 years ago, is in bad state. It is unsafe now because a big tree fell on the roof during the landslide,” he said.

Fuze Ecoteer co-founder Daniel Quilter started a crowd-funding campaign to help the Lembah Subang PPR community by raising about RM9,000 to date.

“The recycling workshop provided secondary jobs for the community. “Additional funds are needed to replace the lost equipment and resources critical to their operations,” he said.

StarMetro reached out to KPKT and Petaling District Land Office but both had yet to respond at press time.