Business owners and residents in Pandan Perdana are relieved that repair works for a collapsed drain wall at Jalan Perdana 4/1 have been completed, a month after complaints were lodged.
Hui Sim Poh, 48, who works at a electrical repair shop located beside the drain, said the wall had given way on the night of May 10.
“My husband received a message from one of the neighbouring business owners that night, informing him that wall of the perimeter drain beside our shop had collapsed and a car had partly sunk into the crack.”
Hui said her husband called the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) to report the incident, adding that they had been concerned of flooding occurring as debris had choked the drain.
“We have experienced floods in this area several years before.
“Once, a coffeeshop that was just about nine units away, had water come up to the knee level.
“When we heard that the drain wall had collapsed, this was our main worry because the drain is just beside our shop.”
Pandan Terrace apartment building manager Parumalsivan Sathiah, 70, said he lodged a report to MPAJ via WhatsApp when he saw the collapsed wall that morning.
Parumalsivan said his main concern was the safety of the apartment residents as the pathway for the side gate from the residential area goes over the perimeter drain.
He feared more sections of the wall could give way over time as erosion had weakened the structure and compromised its stability.
At a press conference to update Pandan Perdana business owners and residents on the repair progress, MPAJ councillor Stella Leong said action was taken by the council’s Engineering Department on May 11, following public complaints.
While the cause of the collapse has yet to be determined, Leong said the repair of the drain area, covering a length of 50m, was targeted for completion by June 25.
Leong said repair works cost RM34,090.
“MPAJ recognised the urgency of this project because it involved the safety of apartment residents, the public who use the parking space at the area of the collapsed drain as well as the livelihoods of those operating in this commercial area,” she said.
Teratai assemblyman Yew Jia Haur, who was also at the press conference, said MPAJ identified a contractor to carry out repair works within a week of the incident.
