LETTER | Floods: What are the enforcement agencies doing?

LETTER | The debris flood in Bukit Tinggi reminded me of many things going wrong in this country.

We have various reasons for one disaster after another. Sometimes it is due to illegal clearing. Sometimes it is due to illegal logging.

Sometimes it is due to clogged drains and rivers and sometimes it is someone forgetting to switch on or switch off the flood control valves.

Worse still, sometimes the valves are faulty and no one is aware until the disaster hits.

After each disaster, relevant ministers and MPs would be at the scene to “assess” the situation. There would be studies, special allocations and remedial measures taken to rectify the damage.

By then usually, the cost of repair would have increased manifold. Meanwhile, the rakyat are made to suffer due to damaged properties and loss of lives.

After the fact, of course, everyone becomes wiser. We should have done this and that. However, I wonder where are the regulating, monitoring and controlling measures before the disaster hits.

Malaysia is one of the most over-governed countries in the world although many may disagree. We have many civil servants and numerous departments and agencies which often overlap and duplicate their functions and responsibilities.

On debris floods, flash floods, heavy rain floods, clogged river floods, landslide floods and erosion floods, do we not have agencies monitoring all these?

We have the Forestry Department which is supposed to monitor illegal logging and land clearing. We have the Drainage and Irrigation Department which is supposed to regulate river basins and catchment areas.

We have municipalities/district offices that are supposed to ensure clean and debris-free rivers and drains.

Then, of course, we have the Department of Environment which is supposed to oversee everything relating to environmental preservation and the prevention of environmental disasters.

Now let’s look at what we do each time a disaster hits. We investigate the causes and the culprits responsible. Sometimes we impose heavy penalties on them.

But have we ever investigated the government departments and agencies for not doing their jobs to regulate, control and monitor the tasks they are entrusted to?

It just seems very odd to me. Did enforcement agencies carry out their task diligently?

Enforcement is the key. Did most agencies compromise their enforcement efforts due to corruption, laziness and incompetence?

There are so many areas where disasters are waiting to happen but somehow no agency is aware until they happen. By then, they will tell us a multitude of reasons.

For a long time, we could have been barking at the wrong tree.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.