NEW projects in hilly areas in Ampang Jaya, Selangor, will be required to instal Early Warning Systems (EWS) as part of their development conditions.
Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) deputy president Hasrolnizam Shaari said the move was aimed at improving early detection of potential landslides.
“The EWS will be able to detect changes in the environment and alert the relevant parties,” he said, adding that the require-ment had been in place since November.
Hasrolnizam said this was so that the local council could build a broader dataset for monitoring purposes.
He said EWS units had been installed this year at slopes in Taman Bukit Jaya, Jalan Wangsa 3, Jalan Bunga Melati 1 and Jalan Mega 3 and 5.
“We will be expanding the installation to other areas, especially on government-owned land first,” he said after chairing MPAJ’s full board meeting at Menara MPAJ yesterday.
He highlighted that MPAJ had spent between RM60mil and RM70mil on slope-related works over the past 10 years, with allocations from the state and Federal governments.
“Each year, we spend about RM2mil on slope maintenance and another RM2mil on cleaning and repair works.”
Two incidents were recorded this year – a rockfall in Taman Bukit Permai in November and a landslip at Kampung Bukit Sungai Puteh early this month.
Hasrolnizam also said the recent tree-fall incidents in Ampang Jaya were caused by poorly maintained trees located on privately-owned land.
“Based on our records, the past few cases of tree falls were at privately-owned land that was not maintained.
“Although such areas fall outside the council’s jurisdiction, MPAJ will assist with cleaning and removal works when incidents occur.”
He said the local council had identified several areas where proactive measures were needed, despite not being under MPAJ’s direct authority.
“We plan to submit a proposal to the state government to highlight that these areas require attention, particularly locations along the boundary between forest reserves and private land,” he said, adding that remedial works would also be carried out to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future.
On another matter, Hasrolnizam said continuous action was being taken against business licence holders who employed foreign workers without valid permits.
Enforcement from Oct 14 to Dec 15 saw 19 compounds issued with 135 seizures of business items carried out at business premises found hiring undocumented foreign workers in breach of their licence conditions.
Action was taken under the MPAJ Trade, Business and Industry By-Laws 2007.
Updating on preparations for the upcoming Ramadan bazaars, Hasrolnizam said 845 lots across 16 locations had been allocated.
“As of Dec 15, 508 lots have been taken up, generating RM249,130 in revenue,” he said.
He added that among the locations with lots still available were Kompleks Muhibbah, Taman Sri Bayu, Jalan Ukay Perdana and Taman Bukit Indah, Ampang.
