Land sinkage: Bukit Rahman Putra flat dwellers living in fear

They claim although several reports were lodged with the authorities, no action has been taken.

SUNGAI BULOH: Some 1,000 tenants of the Bukit Rahman Putra 10 low-cost flats here are living in fear following land sinkage in the area which started five years ago.

They claimed that although several reports were lodged with the authorities, no action had been taken.

One of the tenants, Rosmalizi Aliza Zakaria, 36, said the sinkage was first detected at one of the four occupied blocks there after a ‘gotong-royong.’

“It was small at first but then it grew bigger. The tenants at the lower levels are worried as the sinkage has made their toilets and kitchens unusable after the piping system clogged,” she told reporters here, today.

She added that all the blocks were facing the same problem.

Another tenant, G Kogavanee, 28, said the sinkage had caused cracks on the wall of her flat.

“I’ve painted over the cracks, but it didn’t work as the wall absorbed water. It became more serious after it spread from the kitchen to all three rooms in my house,” said Kogavanee, who moved into the flats ten years ago.

Besides the sinkage, the tenants also voiced out their worries over the status of six other blocks nearby that were left abandoned as it did not meet with building requirements.

Dahlia Neighbourhood Resident Association chairman Mohd Salem Nizam claimed that the structure of the abandoned blocks had also cracked, forcing them to be fenced up.

He added that they were not given certificates of fitness (CF) for occupation.

“Temporary CF was only issued to the tenants of the four blocks, and it was irresponsible for the CF to be issued without checking on the safety of the blocks,” he said.