Sunday December 14, 2008

Time to end slip-ups

STORIES by RASHVINJEET S.BEDI and HARIATI AZIZAN

Talk is cheap. That may be the biggest lesson that we can learn from the recent landslide tragedy in Bukit Antarabangsa. Until real action is taken, the danger will persist.

IT has been raining for many days.” This was one of the common comments heard after the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide which claimed four lives last Sunday, with one still missing.

But we cannot blame the rain all the time, says geotechnical engineer Dr Gue See Saw.

“We have to accept that we have a high rainfall in Malaysia, so we have to design and build structures that can withstand it,” says Dr Gue, who is also a Fellow of the Academy of Science Malaysia.

Trail of destruction: Since the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy, residents in such areas have been up in arms against possible recurrences of a similar tragedy if nothing is done to halt further developments.

He adds that hillside projects can be carried out safely if proper investigation is conducted on the slope before it is developed.

“We need to ensure that the slope is stabilised before carrying out developments in the area. The construction of the building should be done under strict supervision and developers should ensure the safety and sustainability of the buildings,” he says.

Dr Gue, who presented a paper “Landslides: How, Why and the Way Forward” at the Academy of Science Malaysia, stresses that most landslides are caused by man-made factors.

He believes that it is not necessary to ban development projects on slopes with 25° and 35° gradients, provided the slopes are stabilised to support the buildings.

However, he cautions, the stabilisation work would be expensive, which would hike up development costs further.

“But if the developer is not willing to fork out money to stabilise the slope, then it is best to concentrate to an area that is cheaper and easier to develop; and requires less maintenance,” he argues.

Strengthen political will

Dr Gue is one of many who joined the public outcry against the lack of responsibility on the part of developers and the authorities involved in hillslope developments. Since the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy, residents in such areas have been up in arms against possible recurrences of a similar tragedy if nothing is done to halt further developments.

But as the Highland Towers tragedy is painfully reminding us, Malaysians have short memories.

Fernandez: ‘In Hong Kong, developers who break the law go to jail’

Whenever a tragedy occurs, we clamour and howl for blood but once the dust settles, we erase it from our conscience. Resolved action rarely follows the heated words. Life goes on. Hillslope development continues to thrive. Until another tragedy occurs.

The fatal landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa occurred less than a week short of the 15th anniversary of the Highland Towers tragedy which killed 48 and rendered thousands homeless. It was the third landslide in the week, occurring just days after a landslide in Ulu Yam killed two sisters in their sleep.

In the last 15 years, there were 13 major landslides in the Hulu Klang area, of which five were in the Bukit Antarabangsa area. In fact, according to the Public Works Department, there have been 456 landslides nationwide since 1961 and many more will occur.

In April, the Selangor government banned new developments involving Class 3 and Class 4 slopes (slopes with 25° and 35° gradients). On Friday, the Federal Territories followed suit.

However, these resolutions are nothing new. Following the Highland Towers tragedy in Ulu Kelang in 1993, the Government also declared bans on hillside development but in the last nine years, a total of 99 hillside and highland development projects were approved by the local authorities in Selangor.

Strong political will is crucial for change, says local Government expert and lawyer Derek Fernandez.

Dr Gue: ‘Most landslides are caused by man-made factors’

“Areas of high risk are known, yet development is still allowed,” he says.

As Fernandez points out, housing development on hill slopes exceeding 25° is not allowed according to guidelines issued by the Department of Town and Country Planning Malaysia, but this was rarely followed by the state governments.

He cites the project by Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) Properties in Medan Damansara that comprises 21 bungalows costing between RM10mil and RM15mil each as an example.

According to Fernandez, the Department of Minerals and Geoscience found that the developer had begun work on the slope of more than 35° while the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) found that the developer had failed to produce detailed Erosion and Sediment Control Plans (ESCP).

(In May, Damansara 21 project developer SDB Properties was told to submit the ESCP to the Kuala Lumpur City Council following the disclosure by DID.)

“This is just one case where the rules are being flouted blatantly,” says Fernandez.

In August, a landslip due to soil erosion from the hill caused a retaining wall to collapse during a downpour, with one house affected. The residents of Medan Damansara insisted that the whole project tbe stopped although the developer says it needs six more months to complete soil stabilisation works to guarantee the safety of the hill.

The authorities need to be more stringent with its building laws, stresses Fernandez.

“Take Hong Kong, for instance. It only allows development on 10% of its hill slopes. The developers will have to abide by strict slope safety regulations. Those who break the law go to jail. How many people have been jailed in Malaysia for gross negligence?” says Fernandez.

The problem is intensified by political interference in the development process due to vested interest, he alleges.

“How many projects have been approved in total disregard due to political interference, active lobbying by developers and corrupt civil servants? There are too many with vested interests involved in the decision-making. This, together with the lack of sanctions against the wrongdoer, has allowed this cancer to grow,” he says, adding that guidelines and rules are always flouted and totally ignored under the usual excuse that we know best.

Fernandez also strongly opposes states having joint ventures with developers, alleging one such joint venture in the Bukit Gasing development project.

“This is problematic because when such agreements are signed, local authorities are obligated or pressured to approve development. The local authorities should act independently in the public interest,” he argues.

Yee Yew Weng, chairman of the Geotechnical Technical Division in the Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), highlights that four key parties are involved in any development: local authorities, planners, engineers and developers. All parties are responsible for ensuring safe hillsite development, he adds.

However, in the Highland Towers case, the Federal Court ruled that the local council was not liable for the tragedy as it has full immunity under Section 95(20 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133).

Competent experts needed

Shaik Abdul Wahid, the director of an engineering consultant company, feels that professionalism is wanting across the board in the development projects nationwide.

“It is sad that even with the excellent level of engineering we have, the basics have not been covered. All one has to do is to take a drive and look around. One will hardly fail to notice open areas subjected to rapid erosion, slopes consisting of all forms of rubbish from construction material to even soil. Our construction methods, even for the lowest basics like drains, have deteriorated to a level that is hard to describe,” he notes.

Abdul Wahid explains that all civil engineering structures, including man-made slopes, involve three basic steps – design, construction and maintenance.

He claims that the method usually used for testing soil does not normally provide reliable samples while most slope-related designs tend to confine attention mainly to within boundaries of the project area without considering the surrounding areas.

“We allow unsupervised work or work supervised by untrained personnel,” he says.

The designer in turn, says Abdul Wahid, must ensure that all aspects of the construction work are properly carried out. This includes proper earthworks and drainage for careful disposal of unwanted construction material or waste.

Abdul Wahid is critical of the dumping method, where developers cut out the soil and dump it down the slope.

“Where a slope is constructed by simply dumping soil without compaction, soil inside the slope is loose. Regardless of vegetation cover and drainage provided, water will still get into the slope, loosening soils, washing away fine particles in the soils and causing piping and rapid erosion, and in time, slips,” he says.

As for maintenance, Abdul Wahid says practices that cause most damage are also simplest to maintain, provided one is briefed on what to maintain. He says that in 1997, about 215 institutions were inspected for slope-related problems in Wilayah, Selangor and Pahang.

“Almost all of these institutions experienced slope-related problems to various degree of seriousness as the direct result of inadequate maintenance. Numerous examples were found of clogged drains, some completely silted over, sumps filled with rubbish, cascade drains spilling over slopes to highly eroded areas below,” he says.

Improve working system

All agree that a more harmonised framework and system is needed to facilitate safe development projects, specifically hillsite developments.

Currently, any application submitted by the developer goes through 11 departments, not including Ikram and the Public Works Department (PWD).

As Fernandez highlights, planning laws require developers to submit a geo-technical report, a report of risk assessment, report of risk of erosion, proposed stabilising measures and impact of development on surrounding areas. The developer is also required to submit building plans and the earthworks plan to the authorities.

“In theory, the local authorities are supposed to investigate on site but you find that they have no resources to do it or it is not done with seriousness. Many local authorities don’t have consultant engineers nor is supervision undertaken for each stage of development. Consequently, in practice, the documents were given in a manner that would render them as nonsense because the people receiving the reports have no expertise to evaluate them,” he says.

Non-holistic approach

It is also known that the local authorities are not well staffed with experts, especially engineering experts, and have to rely on other agencies. In most cases, there is too much dependence on the developers’ consultants, with no liability on their part, says Fernandez.

Yee concurs, adding that this has resulted in developments that do not take a holistic approach in the implementation of their design, construction and maintenance of the site, specifically hill sites.

“Due to the nature of these consultations, the third party engineers may not be well versed in the given project and may not take a holistic approach. Each consultant will only focus on his individual development, instead of having a more cohesive plan, one that takes into consideration the overall development and impact it will have on the whole area,” he says.

If the project is halted due to whatever reasons, it will affect everyone in the area, Dr Gue points out.

“The authorities need to do a proper study on the cause of the landslide but another common factor in these cases is the existence of an abandoned project in the vicinity or neighbouring area.”

Yee believes that the problem can be addressed if the Government sets up an independent hillsite engineering agency to oversee development on hill sites.

“IEM suggested this to the Government in 2002. The Government can stipulate the level of safety required for hillsite development and implement a workable system that can achieve the level of safety stipulated. This can be overseen by a hillsite engineering agency. Developers and professionals would be required by legislation to comply with the technical requirements and guidelines issued by this agency,” says Yee, citing Hong Kong’s Geotechnical Engineering Office as a model.

Dr Gue agrees, pointing out that although a Slope Engineering branch has been set up under PWD, its effectiveness is restricted by bureaucracy.

“Currently it is tied to PWD, which means that the other departments, including the Housing and Local Government Ministry, have limited access to it. The branch’s funding and manpower strength are also controlled. If we have an independent agency, it can work more holistically and be more effective,” he says.

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