Slow action puts a damper on Seremban’s city status

A section of the collapsed slope outside St Paul’s Institution has also caused the foundation of the school perimeter fence to be exposed.

SEREMBAN residents, particularly those working in the Klang Valley, are probably familiar with the question, “Oh, how’s life in the sticks?” when our city-slicker acquaintances and colleagues find out where we are from.

Over the years, I have become an expert at defending my beloved hometown against such silly remarks, especially after Seremban gained city status over two years ago.

For someone born and raised here, my views may be a bit prejudiced. After all, there is surely a reason why my city has been named one of the country’s happiest.

But The Star reader Michael Cheng, whose letter headlined “Do more to lift Seremban” (Oct 31), perhaps encapsulates it best.

Cheng starts by saying that Seremban is still lagging far behind other state capitals in the country in terms of development.

Seremban, he stated, was in need of more public gardens to make it a green city, additional sports facilities such as running tracks and swimming pools, as well as libraries and museums.

He also noted that although roads had recently been resurfaced, drains widened and traffic signs replaced, there was a need to improve infrastructure just like in every other city.

He also mentioned a complaint lodged by his neighbour with the Seremban City Council (MBS) about a tree encroaching on his property that had shed enough leaves to blanket the roof.

Apparently, the poor fellow had to wait nearly two years for the council to do something about the tree.

To be fair to MBS, being accorded city status does not mean the council will be able to execute changes overnight.

The country had also been in the clutches of the Covid-19 pandemic, delaying and even derailing many projects that had been planned for the city.

Despite these unforeseen hitches, some work was done. Several beautification projects around the city have been carried out.

But having to wait two years for the council to get rid of a problematic tree is just unacceptable.

Cheng’s story reminds me of a recent complaint forwarded to me by the St Paul’s Institution (SPI) board of governors, the partially-aided government school’s Parent-Teacher Association and the Old Paulian Association (OPA).

Board of governors chairman Dr Bob Samuel said a landslide had occurred on a slope outside the school last December, and washed down earth that spilled onto a road in a residential area below.

The matter was immediately reported to the authorities, including MBS and the state Public Works Department.

To the council’s credit, a contractor was appointed but work only started several months later, by which time persistent rainfall washed more earth down the slope and further exposed a barren 200m stretch to the elements.

Dr Samuel said the contractor did some remedial work, including building a retaining wall, which has since collapsed.

“No work has been done since August despite us raising this repeatedly with the authorities.

“Soil erosion along a section of the school’s perimeter fence has since worsened, leaving the foundation exposed and in danger of collapsing.”

He highlighted that a section of the school’s drainage had also collapsed.

He said the school authorities were forced to cordon off areas inside its compound after sinkholes appeared due to the erosion.

“We are extremely worried as there is also soil depression near the Brother Felix Donohue block which houses the staff room and classrooms,” Dr Samuel said, adding that a letter was sent to the Mentri Besar’s office in September but there has been no reply yet.

School PTA chairman V. Yohananthan said many parents had also voiced their concerns for the safety of their children as the exposed slope was visible from a distance.

“For weeks now the slope has only been covered with canvas sheets.

“This delay is not good as the blocks are almost at the edge of a cliff,” he said, adding that MBS should treat the case as an emergency.

Yohananthan said he understands that MBS was looking to engage another contractor to carry out the work.

“But we cannot afford to wait any longer. You can already see the concrete pillar holding the perimeter fence and that is already bad,” he said.

OPA president Steven Chan said the erosion was not only endangering the school staff and students but also the people living in Taman Saga below.

“I even get harassed by the residents each time I visit the collapsed section.

“We don’t blame them as there is also a children’s nursery facing the affected hill,” he said, adding that it has been weeks since remedial works stopped.

Dr Samuel, Chan and Yohananthan agree that if nothing is done quickly, the outcome could be catastrophic.

MBS, they say, should have worked on this when the matter was first reported to them last December.

Maybe MBS has had too much on its plate since the merger of the Seremban and Nilai municipal councils. Still, this is no excuse for not completing the work along the slope.

Cheng ends his letter by saying that as tax-paying residents, the people expect a more efficient MBS.

Ratepayers can surely understand if the council needs time for other things such as building better infrastructure, but delaying urgent action like in the case of the school is totally unacceptable.

I believe I speak for most Seremban residents when I say it’s not the glamour of city status that makes us proud, it’s being able to tell our friends, or better yet, show them why our city deserves the title.

And that means having an efficient city council that takes complaints seriously and attends to them promptly.

Because if it takes weeks, months, or in the case of Cheng’s neighbour – two years to attend to a complaint – we may as well be living in the sticks.