Who would have thought that 15 years after the Highland Tower tragedy, similar disaster is affecting houses located approximately 1.5 km from the area. 14 bungalows were completely destroyed, killing 4 at the time of this write up.
Who was to be blamed?
You know how Malaysia isn’t that big (with population of about 20 Million thus far) and how everyone is connected to everyone in some way or another. And plus the fact that I have a very big family, so when Bukit Antarabangsa was struck with the landslide, you will find me going all frantic about saving someone who has been forgotten by the rest of the world (well, that was just me being all havoc and stuff).
So my sister’s family got cut off from civilization – no electricity, water or any manmade technological discovery you can never imagine having to live with. And the rest of the world forgot about those in Bukit Utama who was stuck at the top of the hill, as the only entrance out was inaccessible.
My brother, Maie who is staying with them was coming home at about 4 am that day. So when some makcik right by the street franticly tried waving him to stop, he chose to ignore fearing two reasons,
1. The Makcik was trying to get seringgit from him
2. The Makcik hitching a ride to some quiet area, which will later turn out to be a grave and the makcik is actually another creature of the earth. Err spooky.
The whole area was pitch black, and he couldn’t see what the fuss is all about when there were glimpse of ambulance and police car on the street. He stopped, got out of the car and then he saw a family running out of a house and the landslide occurring right in front of his eyes. If he were to be going home a bit earlier and not waste his precious time talking his friends at the mamak, he might even be under those piles of soil and rocks by now. Thank Goodness for that.
I only got to know when Ahmad called me at 730 that morning, so I rushed downstairs and frankly, quite shocked to see Maie enjoying his breakfast with ma and abah. So, it’s old news, and again, I am among the last to know (can even hear Huda and Fiza singing to this tune, flashback… during the time when I was actually the last in our circle to know that Huda is getting married!). And of course, I continued my sleep after.
Woke up at 10 am, and the rest of the day was spent on communicating with Colin and Maie (as the middle person) on the rescue plan. After various engagements with the authority and the neighbors, they boldly decided to GET OUT!
The best thing was, when PM announced that he is coming to the site, everyone stopped the SAR (Search and Rescue) work as they felt obliged to prepare for the arrival of the Yang Berhormat. But the Sultan of Selangor, as always, showed true leadership character. He came unannounced; hence, these people didn’t really have time to prepare the red carpet and the nuisance of making all the necessary ‘preparation’ work. But yeah, different people has different way of showing how mucyh they care la kan.
But anyway, coming back to the Evacuation Plan…
Msis couldn’t really walk with the bad ankle that she has, but she decided to brave the pain and the trail up ahead. I wish she would have just taken the heli, but there were an apparent lack of communication between the authority and the rest of those staying up there, so she decided to go through anyway. I waited for about 1.5 hours, before seeing the family. Gosh, what a relief it is that they are safe. Even Sarah (my two year old nephew) did not seem traumatized by the whole ordeal.
So here we are now after 2 long days, recapping the whole episode and how we wish things like this has not happen. An old Chinese man who were forced to evacuate, mumbled about how they have invested so much into the place, and how things such as this should not have happen. And yes, things like this should not have happen.
Today, there is still SAR continues for one last survivor, a Sri Lankan whom they fear may still remained trapped.
And yes, they have identify a probably cause. An expert even mentioned that this landslide is apparently man-made, as the area has the same geological factors as other parts of Kuala Lumpur, ie soil, rock and there is underground water everywhere. They say that the abandoned project may have been the cause of the landslide, as the site is not completed and there is no maintenance of the site.
Whatever it is, they need to punish the ones whom have caused this mayhem. And the kind of punishment needs to serve as a lesson to all.
