Cracks appear in homes near sewage and drainage project

The assemblyman for Padang Lalang, Tan Cheong Heng, checks on Lebuh Binjai 2, Taman Sri Rambai, where an underground pipe is said to have started leaking following work the by Sewage Services Department.

The leak is said to have first been detected in July, in a neighbouring house, Number 71, when one Madam Lim Suan Choo called Tan, saying she suspected the work by the department had caused her house wall to crack and the piping to leak.

“Almost everyday, local residents complain about the cracks in their houses, every morning, in the market, people are complaining,” says Lim, adding that, “these are our assets; it is impossible that every single one of our houses is made of low quality materials.”

Tan visited and found the problem to be a serious one, and continued to receive similar complaints after that.

The similarity of the complaints and the damage to the houses points to the cause of the leak as not being an isolated case nor one of a structural defect, but rather caused by an external factor, says Tan, noting that the damage extends to wall cracks, floors caving-in and doors being unable to be closed.

He has commissioned a land surveyor to check on whether the work by the Sewage Services Department has caused structural damage to the houses.

Tan says that if it is necessary, local authorities will issue a stop-work order on the project contractor,  and compensation claims will have to be discussed between the contractor and the residents.

In August, Tan wrote to the Minister of Energy, Water and Green Technologies, Peter Chin, but is yet to receive a reply. He is now attempting to raise the matter with the minister in Parliament through the MP, Chong Eng.

He hopes the minister can direct Ikram to urgently investigate the matter, to ease the worry of the local residents.