KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities should install more early warning systems for landslides to ensure long-term monitoring and manage risks especially in highland areas, says Alliance for A Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
"The responsibility for installing such systems should both be borne by the local authorities and developers / proponents of projects in the vicinity of hilly high risk or environmentally sensitive areas," he said in a statement on Sunday (Jan 28).
In Hong Kong, every slope is designated an owner to look after and to maintain the safety of all slopes, Lee said.
"It is important that state and local authorities be more proactive in dealing with such calamities rather than continuing with the practice of being only reactive.
"In addition, the community themselves must be safety-conscious at all times not to put their lives unnecessarily at risk by living or carrying out activities at the proximity of hillslope areas.
"Most important, control development encroachment (especially for housing), illegal logging and invasive agricultural activities in permanent forests and environmentally sensitive areas (hills, slopes, inundated areas and peat areas) that have been clearly marked in development plans," Lee said.
Malaysia is already vulnerable to extreme climate events leading to surface runoffs and associated landslides and land subsidence, he added.
"In Malaysia, landslides can occur in slopes already on the verge of movement by rainfall, changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in groundwater level and flow, disturbance by human activities, or any combination of these factors.
"Landslides are normally triggered by heavy rainfall or sometimes leaking pipes or vibration due to vehicle movement," he said in a statement on Sunday (Jan 28).
A landslide occurs when a mass of material, either mixed or in individual pieces, falls down a slope, he said.
"This can be quick or slow and can also occur on flat terrain. Geological materials can also influence the landslide. Layered rocks or intensely fractured rocks can also lead to landslides or rockfalls," he said.
The adverse impacts of man-made disasters from unchecked development and lack of monitoring by local authorities become more severe with extreme climatic conditions, Lee said.
"Encroachment, development and activities in environmentally sensitive areas such as in forest watersheds, peat areas, hills and slopes have been rampant and adverse impacts of these developments are exacerbated during the events of climate change," he said.
"Hundreds of millions of rakyat’s money have been awarded to contractors to conduct remedial works, all of which could have been prevented if proper control and precautionary approaches on development or illegal encroachment, have been done by local authorities and developers, with less focus on short-term gains," he said.
Five–year development plans and various environmental acts and policy documents in theory would have guided the government on the types, scale and locations of development allowed, Lee said.
"It is pertinent that environmental protection legislation focuses on conservation of natural resources and environmentally sensitive areas rather than merely focusing on corrective measures.
"There have been significant numbers of breaches of environmental law and development plans, however the proportion of prosecutions or other enforcement action have been minimal and only comes to the fore when there is public outcry," he said.
The major problem within the legal framework, Lee said, is in its sectoral approach which leaves certain grey areas unregulated due to the overlap between existing government agencies tasked to manage environmental well-being.
Among the examples of past incidents were the landslide in Lestari Perdana, the mud flood in Cameron Highlands on Oct 23, 2013, and the Batang Kali campsite tragedy two years ago.
"Why was not much, if any remedial action taken to prevent more landslides to save lives," he questioned.
