Puchong residents file lawsuit against MPSJ over landslides

FIVE residents of Elyssa Villas at Bandar Puteri 9, Puchong, have filed a legal suit, claiming for negligence and damages following two landslides in their neighbourhood and over the action taken by the authorities.

“We have filed a case against the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) at the Shah Alam High Court’s Civil section for negligence and damage to property and general compensation,” said Billy Koh, who is one of the five plaintiffs.

“We are waiting for the judge to determine the cost to be awarded, following the decision to grant us an order for judicial review.”

The case to seek claims on damage incurred is scheduled for hearing in August.

It had been reported earlier that the first landslide in May 2011 caused a portion of a retention wall along Jalan Puteri 9/2 to collapse.

Another landslide occurred in March 2012 after days of heavy rain. Cracks also appeared on the only access road to the cul-de-sac of 58 bungalows.

Residents were upset with how MPSJ and the developer, Flora Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of IOI Properties, had handled the situation. In addition, many questions had been left unanswered and documents they requested were not given.

Despite being informed that the Public Works Institute of Malaysia (Ikram) was appointed to monitor the site and carry out geophysics works to find out the cause of the problems, residents said they were unaware about the status of the report and whether it had been completed or not.

MPSJ also decided during a March 2012 meeting to build a temporary access road at Jalan Puteri 9/2A, which would cut through the gardens of four homes, though only one is presently affected.

“In August 2012, the Kuala Lumpur High Court issued MPSJ and Flora Development an injunction against trespassing or carrying out work on my property.

“The judicial review was carried out last February,” said Koh, who is also the former Bandar Puteri 9 Residents’ Association (RA) vice-chairman and Elyssa Villas Residents Action Committee chairman.

The court granted the judicial review after deciding that the issuance of a notice to vacate and demolish dangerous building structures under Section 83 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133) by MPSJ was unlawful and unreasonable.

MPSJ had issued the notice on March 2012 to several Elyssa Villas residents, which required them to vacate their homes, demolish their property gates, pergolas and related structures, and create a temporary access through their property to facilitate remedial and slope strengthening works.

“My family of five was forced to move out of our two-and-a-half storey bungalow immediately after MPSJ issued the notice, as it stated that we would be fined RM250 per day if we were to ignore it.

While it has cost Koh more than RM200,000 in legal fees so far, he said he had been unable to come to a mutual agreement with Flora Development for the latter to buy back his house which he claimed was valued at RM6mil by a property valuer.

“We later learnt that our homes are sitting on sediment soil and has a creek flowing underneath the slope,” said another resident Jacob Samuel.

“We are very concerned about the stability of the slope on which houses are built. It has been more than a year since the landslides, yet we have no news about Ikram’s report.”

Koh and Samuel were speaking at a press conference with a group of fellow affected residents and lawyer Kamarudin Ahmad, who is representing 58 property owners under the Elyssa Villas Residents Action Committee.

Speaking on behalf of the residents, Kamarudin said: “MPSJ did not handle the issues and difficulties faced by residents of Elyssa Villas properly.

“The issues include delay in announcing the soil survey report on the landslide by the geotechnical consultant, and the numerous inconveniences for residents when MPSJ issued the notice under Section 83, Act 133.

“The new access road to replace the damaged road is yet to be completed by the developer even though more than a year has lapsed since the landslide.

“Residents are also questioning whether the authorities have taken adequate measures to address the matter, as a report by the Mineral and Geoscience Department dated October 2011 states that the area is located near a natural stream and the groundwater flow could bring adverse effects on the slope stability level.”

When contacted, a Flora Development spokesman said: “In terms of work progress, the rock buttress wall is completed, while the earth retaining wall is currently 80% completed.

“Road and services relocation works will commence upon the completion of the earth retaining wall and all the works including the restoration of the road will be completed by October 2013.”

The spokesman declined to comment on the legal aspect as the matter has been referred to the court.