Human Factor
27/04/2005 e.sinchew-i.com
The climate in Klang Valley is getting increasingly unpredictable, with
bright sunny weather in the morning giving way suddenly to a powerful gust
and heavy downpour.
Klang Valley is already "physically debilitated". Any heavy rain will only
aggravate the situation further. A recent storm has resulted in severe
floods, landslides and cave-ins in some parts of Klang Valley.
Strong gusts and heavy rains are natural phenomena, and to point the
finger at natural phenomena is but a most common way of evading one's
responsibilities. As a matter of fact, human factor should be the prime
suspect, and Klang Valley's vulnerability is but the result of uncurbed
developments.
Developers have provided us with a wide variety of residential choices,
with one after another housing projects. However, if a developer cares
only for his own interests, and fails to evaluate the potential impacts
his project may have on the environment, soil and the drainage system, the
project's weaknesses will be fully exposed whenever a storm strikes, no
matter how cosy it is claimed to be.
Even if a developer has submitted the environment assessment reports and
listed the steps to be taken for any possible situation, prior to carrying
out a project, due to technical and financial constraints, these proposals
are often reduced to nothing more than empty talks.
If developers discharge their social obligations to build good quality
homes instead of waxing lyrical of their projects through A&P means, I
believe inconveniences such as flash floods, landslides and other lethal
tragedies arising from indiscreet developments could have been prevented.
While there are responsible developers who promptly make amends after a
landslide has occured, we can't deny that there are also black sheep in
their midst. Consequently, the responsibility of monitoring these people
rests in the hands of various departments and units involved in the
projects.
Having said that, inadequacies in our public management system,
administration and enforcement, coupled with a lack of coordination among
the various departments, are the root causes of all problems.
Take the environment assessment report for example, inconsistency in
project approval has been all the more evident among the various approving
authorities. A project must be first submitted to the local authorities
for approval; the land authority would approve the project on technical
considerations, while the environment authority is responsible for the
environmental impacts the project may have. However, environment
assessment report is often submitted after a project has been carried out,
or perhaps omitted right away, as the project has already been approved by
the land authority.
Moreover, after the approval by the environment authority, even if the
construction is monitored as required, the lack of coordination among the
various departments, as well as the conflicts and overlapping in the areas
of jurisdiction between the central government and the environment
authority, have made enforcement even harder to carry out.
During the process of scrutinising the project and supervision of the
construction works, we cannot rule out the possibility of irresponsible
manipulation of government officials by some developers in the wake of
profits. Some of the developers have political backing, allowing them to
exploit lands indiscreetly and making enforcement of laws a whole lot more
difficult.
Natural disasters can strike anytime and we are in no position at all to
prevent them. However, human factors can be checked.
The repeated occurrence of floods and landslides after a heavy downpour
has highlighted the fact that we have flopped in both our supervisory as
well as preventive works. It is now time for us to learn from our
mistakes.
Sin Chew Daily
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