JOHOR BARU: The Federal Government has been urged to conduct a sustainable flood mitigation study on high-risk areas in the state to provide a long-term solution to the issue.
Johor Housing and Local Government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said that the study should not only look at solutions for low-land areas but also areas that might be inundated when a high volume of rain falls.
“We have low-land areas such as Kampung Jaya Sepakat, Kampung Murni Jaya, Taman Aman, in Kulai that are often affected by floods,” he said.
He added that areas recently affected are Kampung Bukit Batu at Jalan Benteng and Jalan Masjid, though these are not low-lying regions.
“The government should not look at areas in Kulai alone, but all areas that are affected by floods so that there is a holistic approach to address the matter," he said when contacted.
The study could take about a year to be completed to better determine and predict the effect of the weather on a certain area, he added.
“There are residential houses that are located near a river; so besides deepening the river for a short-term solution, there should also be a long-term solution like a floodwall being studied and developed.
“It would be best if the Federal Government could provide some allocation to study these types of development theoretically before going through with it,” he said, adding that this would ensure that the developed project is viable and worthwhile.
“Flood mitigation projects would usually cost millions of ringgit, which the state government could not afford,” he added.
