The jitters
over sinkhole
08/06/2005 Malay Mail By Mohd Salman Hamatt
KUALA LUMPUR, June 7
Residents of Block 2 of Desa Mentari low-cost flats in Jalan Klang Lama do
not feel safe anymore.
Since a sinkhole was discovered a year ago, the flat dwellers have been having
sleepless nights worrying that the two-year-old building might collapse.
They have found a crack from the ground floor to the highest level along the
corridors.
However, what shocked them most was the explanation by the developer, Mentari
Properties Sdn Bhd, which allegedly said that it was normal for a building
situated above a mining pool to experience such problems.
Hisham Jahari, a resident on the seventh floor, said they spotted the crack
and the sinkhole about a year ago and immediately alerted the developer.
“Given a choice, I would rather stay elsewhere. But we have nowhere else to
go,” said Hisham, a security guard.
Electrical shop owner Chan Wan Hoi, 44, is worried about his shop on the ground
floor of the building.
“I don’t think the building is safe. I cannot move out as I bought this shop,”
he said.
A bookstore owner who wanted to be identified only as Anbarasan, said he knew
about the problem when he moved in eight months ago but thought it would be
rectified soon.
“But, looks like it is already too late as the sinkhole is getting deeper
by the day,” he said.
Noraini Husin, 52, who lives on the third floor complained that water would
seep in every time it rains.
“It seeps through the wall. I don’t understand how this could have happened,”
she said.
The building is without a single fire hose or fire extinguisher.
A spokesman for the developer, Ahmad Shazerain, appealed to residents to be
patient as they are looking for a solution.
He assured residents that the building is safe and is not on the verge of
collapsing.
“The building was built on a former mining site and it is natural for such
problems to happen.
“As a developer, it is our responsibility to carry out repairs but we are
still waiting for a full report from our engineer,” said Ahmad.
“A geological research was carried out by our consultant and approved by the
Petaling Jaya Municipal Council.” |
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