8/14/2019 TheSun 2008-12-10 Page17 Citizen Nades Hang Em for the
Wrong Decisions
1/1
gradient. While
executive council membersDr Xavier Jayakumar andElizabeth Wong
were vocal onthe issue, those present couldinterpret the silence of
theircolleagues. Since Saturday,there has been no dearthof public
statements fromthe same people. Overnight,some of them have
becomeexperts on soil erosion. Theythrow phrases such as
soilmovement, soil strength,and soil stability.
I have reason to believesome staff of local councilsare blind.
They use the roadsin the area so often but areoblivious to the
nonsense thatis taking place right beforetheir eyes. The picture on
thispage illustrates this point.Someone cut the hill and
destroyed the vegetation. Doesanyone care? The vegetationis
there to prevent erosion. Itsso close to the Sprint Highwayand yet,
why was this allowed?City Hall would say it is onprivate land, but
the moment you dig a hole, youll needplanning permission. So,
werebuilding plans submitted? Wasplanning permission given? So,why
are you guys still sittingin your air-conditioned officesand not
acting? Waiting foranother tragedy to happen?
Finally, back to the nohillside development order.Who is
supposed to imple-ment it? The state? It is partof the problem! The
localcouncils? They dont care aboutdirectives! Are the
powers-that-be prepared to sackthe people who give thego-ahead? Are
they willing toset a precedent so it will be adeterrent to all the
little Napo-leons who think they can actand behave as they like?
Itsno use making orders whenthey are openly defied. Unlessyou make
an example of one,the others fear none. By theway, the rape of the
junglesopposite Templer Park alongthe Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur trunkroad
is a standing monumentof such defiance. Who will takethe rap?
R. Nadeswaran has been say-ing it for years the no
hillsidedevelopment is a clich. The people in power cared two
hoots about his opinion. LittleNapoleons dismissed him as an
alarmist. He hopes theirconscience will be clear whenthey go to bed
every night.He can be reached at [email protected].
speakup!17theSun | WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 10 2008
THERE aredays when itshard to controlseething anger.Two
weeksago, TerenceFernandez andI had discussedwriting ana n n i v e
r s a r yfeature on theHighland Towerscrash, which istomorrow.
Wehad gatheredthe material. Theweekend and the
public holidaywere such days. Itwas not bad when the first
fewSMSes came through early onSaturday. As the day movedon, the
images on televisioncaused more fury. Every manworth his salt was
saying: Nomore hillside development.
Werent those four magicwords utteredmany years agowhen a block
ofthe Highland Tow-ers came crashingdown? Haventthese four
wordsbeen used everytime theres alandslide? Haventthese four
wordsbeen misused andabused? Most of
the dead have yetto be put to rest,but the finger-pointing has
started.
Its not mine, but yours,declare the politicians.
And some of them haveeven exclaimed four morenew magic words:
All high-land projects frozen.
In between, some aretalking about special taskforces and
committees.Some are behaving as spokes-men for errant
developerswhile a handful have takenthe tragedy to advance
theirpolitical careers. But theyconveniently chose to forgetanother
five magic words atragedy waiting to happen.
The real issue is that whenit comes to development,only two
agencies call theshots the state and thelocal authority and
bothhave consistently defied thecalls from federal
leaders,including prime ministers anddeputy prime ministers.
Thewarlords in the state say it veryconvincingly: Land is a
statematter. The little Napoleons inthe local councils decree:
Weare the approving authority.So, when both hands clap,they can
move mountains,literally. And theres plentyof movement of money
too!And many people feel moneyin everything they see. Whena hill is
cut, the trees can besold as timber and the earthused in another
development.When these things occur,
public opinion goes to the dogs;federal directives are
treatedlike scraps of paper; journalistsare termed as alarmists
andenvironmentalists are referredto as troublemakers. If andwhen
theyre caught with their
pantsdown, just two magicwords can do wonders:Semuanya OK! As if
to justifytheir illogical decisions, theywill get the support from
ex-perts and consultants. Whenasked if they can guaranteethat
nothing untoward wouldhappen, they look at the sky
and say: Even Godcant guaranteethat. So, whytake risks? Whybuild
on hills andhill slopes? Theanswer is simple:The margins
arehigher!
So, the in-evitable questionwill be: Is hillsided e v e l o p m
e n t
going to stop,once and for all?If you want an
honest answer from me, itsa big NO! The presence oflobbyists and
apologists fordevelopers is so obvious. Theyare already on
overdrive. Readthe statements in the news-papers and come to your
ownconclusions. Instead of catch-ing them by the throat andholding
them responsible, theyare now working togetherto identify weak
points andconducting soil tests.
The voices of reason andrule books often take a backseat when it
comes to property.Other values take precedenceand officialdom is
often treatedas an object or property, whichcan be traded for a
price. Littlewonder that forest reservescan be de-gazetted;
riverscan be re-aligned; agriculturalplots can become bungalowlots
and luxury condominiumscan sit on playing fields andrecreational
grounds.
Has anyone learnt fromtragedies of the recent past?No, its just
another life,the insurance would takecare of that, they would
say.Their places of abode havedisappeared, never mind,
thegovernment will give themfree accommodation in hotelswhile they
re-build their lives.
Developers know that whileflood victims in the kampungare sent
to community hallsand schools which act as reliefcentres, landslide
victims getfive-star treatment.
In August, at a meetingchaired by the Selangor mentribesar on
hillside development,the message was sent outloud and clear no
develop-ment on slopes above 25
wrong decisions
Hang em for the
wrong decisions
CitizenNadesby R. Nadeswaran
