RM3mil to tackle high tides

A stitch in time saves nine: Volunteers preparing the sand barriers at Kampung Tok Muda in Kapar, Selangor, to face huge high tides expected to hit the village end of this week.

KUALA LUMPUR: Five states will receive a RM3mil allocation from the Government as part of the short-term mitigation plans to tackle the high-tide phenomenon.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the money will be used to repair and strengthen the existing bunds in Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Perlis and Penang to face the possible onslaught of high tides until December.

“But for long-term preparation against the phenomenon, we have asked for RM416mil for all the states.

“Hopefully, we will be granted the money in the upcoming Budget. It’s also fine if we can receive the funds in phases,” he said at Wisma Jupem (Survey and Mapping Department) yesterday.

Dr Wan Junaidi noted that the high-tide phenomenon was one of the outcomes of global warming, along with the rising sea levels and the unusually heavy rainfall experienced by Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang in 2014 and Kuching earlier in the year.

He also said the Department of Irrigation and Drainage had conducted short-term and long-term studies to mitigate the severity of these impacts and on the costs involved.

Also present were Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Hamim Samuri and the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Seri Azizan Ahmad.

Dr Wan Junaidi was at the launch of the laboratory test of the underground utility detection instrument at Wisma Jupem.

He said Jupem is currently working on an underground utility map which shows all the water pipes, cables and other underground facilities.

“This utility map is important to our nation as we aspire to become a developed country because before a new building is built, knowing the layout of these underground facilities will ensure that they are not accidentally damaged by machinery, bulldozers or excavators.”

During the event, it was also announced that a new test site for the underground utility detection instrument – the first of its kind in the world – would be built at a cost of RM1.85mil.