SELANGOR IDENTIFIES 15 HILLSLOPES AT RISK FROM LANDSLIDES

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- Fifteen hillslopes in the Ampang Jaya and
Gombak parliamentary constituencies and four districts in Selangor have been
identified as being at risk from landslides, Chief Minister Abdul Khalid
Ibrahim said Sunday.

He said the local authorities would monitor the areas but the
responsibility of taking measures to prevent landslides there rested with the
land owners
themselves.

"As such, the state government will write to all owners of land on
hillslopes in the state to remind them of this responsibility," he told
reporters after a dialogue with residents of Bukit Antarabangsa at the Addiniah
surau, here.

Bukit Antarabangsa was hit by a massive landslide on Dec 6 which left four
people dead and 14 bungalows destroyed.

Khalid said the 15 hillslopes at risk from landslides in the Ampang Jaya
and
Gombak parliamentary constituencies were detected through monitoring by state
government agencies. These constituencies cover the four state constituencies of
Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Klang, Lembah Jaya and Teratai.

He named the four districts identified as being at risk from landslides as
Gombak, Hulu Langat, Hulu Selangor and Petaling.

The Chief Minister said the Bukit Antarabangsa state constituency covered
Bukit Antarabangsa, Ukay Heights, Taman Hijau, Taman Hillview and Dataran Ukay;
the Hulu Klang constituency covered Taman Melawati, Ukay Perdana and Taman
Kemensah; the Lembah Jaya constituency covered Taman Tengku Abdul Rahman and
Bukit Sungai Seputeh, and the Teratai constituency covered Bukit Teratai, Bukit
Permai, Taman Saga, Taman Mega and Bukit Segar.

Khalid said land owners had to consider the risk before deciding to put up
anybuilding on the hillslopes, adding that those who failed to discharge this
responsibility would have their land confiscated in accordance with Section 13
(a) of the National Land Code in the public interest.

He also said that the state government would take responsibility for the
measures to maintain the hillslope areas owned by it and its subsidiaries.

He said this decision was arrived at after the state government received
the
report of the Public Works Department (JKR) last Friday on the safety of
buildings in Bukit Antarabangsa and after having compared the information with
the data and monitoring conducted by the local authorities.

"This has enabled the state government to prepare a long-term measure for
the maintenance of hillslopes in Selangor, as well as a system of assistance for
victims of the landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa," he said.

Khalid also asked the federal government, through the JKR, to conduct a
comprehensive study in the four state constituencies identified to have
hillslopes at risk from landslides.

"We feel the involvement of the JKR is most appropriate because the
department has the Slope Engineering Branch which can conduct a thorough study
and come up with specific solutions," he said.

Since Nov 30, six people have died in landslides in Selangor -- two in Ulu
Yam Perdana and four in Bukit Antarabangsa.

Four landslides had occurred since Nov 30 in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur --
in Ulu Yam Perdana; in Jalan Semantan, Damansara; in Jalan Setia Bistari, Bukit
Damansara and in Bukit Antarabangsa.

-- BERNAMA