Workers cleaning a ditch along Jalan Southkey in Johor Baru.
JOHOR Baru City Council (MBJB) maintains drains and sewers in the city spanning more than 1,900km all year-round.
Johor Baru mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman said about RM19mil had been allocated for repairs and upkeep of drains under its jurisdiction this year, including carrying out routine maintenance at least once a month to prevent flash floods.
Mohd Noorazam says new drainage systems will require more funding.He said the responsibility to maintain and repair the city’s drains and sewers were divided among three parties.
It included state and federal government agencies as well as local authorities.
“MBJB is responsible for drains and sewers along local council roads, and the figure will increase from time to time according to the current developments,” he said after chairing the city council’s full board meeting.
Mohd Noorazam said there were instances where MBJB had to step in to maintain drains that were left unmanaged due to its location or those that did not fall under any agency.
“Lately, we received complaints about a drain in bad condition near Jalan Pasir Pelangi. Although it was not under MBJB’s purview, I instructed my team to clear the overgrowth and unclog the short stretch of drain because we take each complaints seriously.
“MBJB will step in to conduct one-off maintenance and repairs for drains without parent agencies while the relevant bodies discuss and look at how the issue can be addressed moving forward,” he said.
Mohd Noorazam added that joint efforts from all parties, including federal and state agencies as well as concessionaires, were crucial to prevent flash floods.
“This is because the existing drainage infrastructure in the city can no longer cater to the huge volume of rain.
“Due to climate change and the La Nina phenomenon, when it pours, the rainfall is intense,” he said, adding that new drainage system specifications were needed but that required a lot of funds.
Earlier, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi called for major efforts to clean and maintain drains and sewers statewide, starting with Johor Baru.
“Flash floods are a common occurrence especially in the city area, usually due to clogged drains and drainage systems that are not well maintained,” he said on his social media platform.
He said this was being discussed in a meeting with the relevant agencies such as the Public Works Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, local governments, district offices and concessionaires.
“They will meet me to provide updates monthly. Take each complaint about clogged drains with rubbish or overgrowth seriously and see that it is addressed immediately,” he said, reminding the public to maintain cleanliness in the environment and refrain from littering.
On a separate note, Mohd Noorazam said MBJB received 9,718 public complaints in June this year, of which 2,334 related to fallen, high risk or decaying trees.
This was followed by 2,088 complaints about roads, 1,290 complaints about streetlights, 1,126 complaints about public cleanliness, 1,049 about parking issues and the rest were complaints about pests.
“From the total, 5,614 or more than 57% of the complaints were addressed in the same month, where the city council was able to solve 3,838 of them in less than 15 days.
“The remaining complaints will be addressed in due time as many of them require mid- and long-term solutions,” he said.
The mayor added that MBJB’s special emergency response team Skuad Kilat had been making rounds daily to monitor the city and had cleared clogged drains and fallen trees without the public having to lodge a formal complaint.
Residents in the MBJB area can channel their complaints through the online public complaints management system at https://mbjb.spab.gov.my/eApps/system/index.do
