Consequences of planting and cutting trees

A little more than half a century ago in 1973, I worked as a full-time tourist guide, and my office was at the Merlin Hotel on Jalan Treacher in Kuala Lumpur. They were later renamed Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur and Jalan Sultan Ismail respectively.

Then, I regularly patronised the nearby mamak stall shaded by a big raintree. It was the same tree that recently toppled and caused mayhem, damaging 17 cars, inflicting injuries with one fatality, blocking traffic on both sides of the road and the monorail track above.