IPOH folk in Buntong and Gugusan Manjoi, affected by flash floods in February, are calling on the authorities to better maintain Sungai Pari and the surrounding drainage system.
The river connects both these areas and has burst its banks
frequently in recent years.
A 70-year-old resident at Jalan Bidor in Buntong, who wanted to be known only as Lim, said the area has been flood-prone since 1993.
He said the situation worsened over the years, with the February incident being the worst.
“Floods occur up to six times a year depending on the rainfall.
“Flooding is almost certain during the year-end monsoon season,” said Lim, whose house
is located near a stream that links to Sungai Pari.
“Despite the river having been deepened, it is still flooding.”
Lim said the outlets of the drains needed maintenance.
“Mud, sediment and rubbish frequently get stuck at the outlets,” he said.
“When the river overflows, our housing area gets flooded.
“Since this is a flood-prone area, I keep my personal belongings on higher ground.”
On Feb 16, flash floods struck low-lying areas in Ipoh, particularly Buntong, Gugusan Manjoi and several other housing areas located near Sungai Pari.
Buntong was badly hit, with waters reaching 1.6m high while it rose to waist level within 15 minutes at Gugusan Manjoi.
In the last five years, both areas have been flood-prone.
A Buntong resident, who wanted to be known only as Kong and lives in Jalan Jerlun, said aside from flooding, the river also smelled.
“The river water smells bad especially during the rainy season,” she said.
Kong suggested building a wall between the river and houses or raising the riverbank to prevent water from gushing into houses.
“There used to be a raised sand embankment here, but it eroded over time. It helped prevent water from overflowing into the houses,” she added.
Vegetation, rubbish issue
I. Mary, 81, who has lived at Jalan Gurney in Buntong for about 60 years, said the drains were poorly maintained.
She said there was vegetation in the drains that need to be cleared regularly as it interfered with water flow.
“I hope the authorities clean the drains regularly, trim overgrown grass and remove sediment from the river at least once every six months.
“Previously, the water flowed onto the road but this time, it entered our homes,” said Mary.
Another resident from Jalan Gurney, B. Usha Nanthini, 51, who is physically challenged, said the recent flood was unusually severe.
“This time, the water level was higher than usual,” she said, adding that her leg became infected after being exposed to floodwaters.
“We have been complaining for over 10 years about the lack of drain maintenance.
“Rubbish often clogs the drains. Residents even resort to hiring private cleaners at our own expense to clear the area.”
At Gugusan Manjoi, shopkeeper Mohammed Kadir, 45, said large amounts of rubbish are seen in the river during the floods with debris trapped beneath the Jalan Raja Bridge.
“Whenever it floods, you see rubbish floating in the river,” he said adding that he has seen clean-up works too.
“Manjoi is generally quite clean as there are rubbish traps installed at certain parts of the river, so I am unsure where all this rubbish is from,” he said.
“It is possible the waste is coming from upstream areas.
“I hope people will help keep the environment, especially our rivers, clean by not throwing waste into it.”
Security guard Azlan Ahmad, 57, said the community must play a role and refrain from dumping rubbish into drains and rivers.
“Environmental awareness is crucial and residents should remind each other to maintain cleanliness,” he said.
“The people should have regular gotong-royong activities within the community to help keep the environment clean to reduce risk of future flooding.”
Environmental group Kinta Valley Watch spokesperson Ching Boon Tat expressed concern over the poor condition of the Sungai Pari flood retention pond upstream near Kampung Tawas.
He said it was heavily silted with mud and sand and lacked maintenance.
Ching said the state government should identify the source of the large amount of sediment
“There are also vegetation, accumulated rubbish and signs of a malfunctioning drainage system near the retention pond.
“Flooding after just four hours of rain suggests there is a serious problem with the drainage and river system,” he said, adding that if everything functioned properly water should flow smoothly into Sungai Perak.
Perak DID responds
Perak Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) said in a statement that the Feb 16 flood was due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas of Sungai Kinta and Sungai Pari.
“More than 90mm of rain was recorded within three hours that day.
“Rubbish stuck under the Jalan Raja Bridge in Gugusan Manjoi was identified as a contributing factor,” it added.
DID said the blockage disrupted water flow, causing river water to overflow into nearby residential areas.
“The soffit (underside) level of the bridge has been identified as causing a bottleneck effect along Sungai Pari, resulting in overflow into low-lying areas such as Gugusan Manjoi.
“Some of the existing mobile pumps do not have the capacity to discharge internal drainage flow into the river,” it added.
On the frequency of maintenance works, DID said the river system network in Buntong and Manjoi came under the Sungai Pari basin.
Rivers that contribute to Sungai Pari included Sungai Kuang, Sungai Chemor, Sungai Chepor, Sungai Sah, Sungai Klebang, Sungai Jarum Mas, Sungai Meru, Sungai Tambun, Sungai Tapah, Sungai Kati and Sungai Lang.
“River maintenance is carried out based on the annual allocation received, and includes responding to complaints, repairing riverbanks and carrying out desilting works, especially in identified flood hotspots,” said DID adding that internal drainage systems were under the purview of the Ipoh City Council (MBI).
Throughout 2025, DID said it carried out several river and flood retention pond maintenance works within the Sungai Pari basin.
These included river channel improvement works along Sungai Pari near Taman Suria to reduce flood risk; emergency repairs to Sungai Tapah flood control structure at Jalan Tok Ketua, Kampung Tengku Hussain and emergency restoration
work on the Sungai Pari flood control structure at Taman Hock Aun.
DID also carried out dredging works at Sungai Kuang in RPT Batu 10, Chemor; river channel improvement at Sungai Jarum Emas near Sky Garden Residences, Klebang; maintenance works at Taman Merdeka, Kampung Tai Lee and Sungai Pari flood retention ponds, all within Kinta District.
“The maintenance works include desilting and restoring rivers, constructing and maintaining river bunds, servicing flap gates, repairing riverbank structures, maintaining fixed and mobile pumps and clearing river reserve areas designated as flood plains,” it said.
On calls to deepen the river, DID said deepening the river beyond its original design was not recommended as it could cause riverbanks to collapse.
“Desilting works are carried out to remove accumulated sand and silt to restore the river to its original capacity,” it said.
“Flap gates in Buntong and Manjoi are cleaned regularly to prevent debris, such as plastic bottles, from getting stuck and causing backflow into low-lying housing areas.
DID also pointed out that rapid upstream and midstream development contributed to increased surface runoff due to reduction of permeable surfaces.
“Nevertheless, the government requires all new developments to comply with the Urban Stormwater Management Manual, including the provision of flood retention ponds or on-site detention systems as source control measures,” it added.
As short-term measures, DID said it would continue maintaining flood retention ponds and carrying out periodic servicing and repairs of pumps in affected areas.
Long-term solutions included plans to upgrade the Jalan Raja bridge to ease the bottleneck situation, as part of Phase Two of the Sungai Kinta Flood Mitigation Plan.
“DID will work closely with the city council and other agencies to address flood issues in the area.
“A stakeholder engagement session was held in December 2025 involving MBI, the Kinta District and Land Office and other agencies, including village heads, to brief them on the upcoming flood mitigation projects,” it added.
A poorly maintained drain at Jalan Gurney. — Photos: RONNIE CHIN/The Star and courtesy photos
Azlan says residents should help keep the environment clean, rubbish-free to prevent flooding.
Fire and Rescue Department personnel setting up boats to rescue affected residents during the flood at Jalan Gurney.
Rubbish stuck under the bridge at Jalan Raja, Gugusan Manjoi contributed to the flooding at nearby areas.
The bridge after MBI removed the rubbish.
Mud, sediment and rubbish get stuck at the flap gate in Jalan Bidor.
Clean-up works being carried out by MBI workers after the floods.
