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Most landslides
can be prevented,
says engineer
KUALA LUMPUR: Most landslides
are preventable and Malaysia
already has the expertise to drasti-
cally reduce the frequency of such
incidences, says Dr Nehemiah Lee, a
geotechnical engineer and authority
on reinforced soil techniques.
Geotechnical engineering is a
branch of engineering specialising in
assessing the stability and strength
of soil and rock materials, as well as
groundwater conditions.
Lee, previously with the Drainage
and Irrigation Department and now
the managing director of a company
dealing with reinforced soil technol-
ogy, said incidences of landslides
were known to geotechnical engi-
neers as slope stability problems.
“The question is whether we are
willing to channel resources in terms
of expert personnel and adequate
funding to resolve the problem,” he
told Bernama yesterday.
Referring to calls for a blanket
ban on hillside development follow-
ing the landslide at Bukit Antara-
bangsa, he said it might not be the
most appropriate approach to solve
the problem.
Lee, who has been invited to
speak at many international confer-
ences, said the continued growth in
population and increasing scarcity
of flat usable land would continue
to exert tremendous pressure to
develop hilly terrain.
“Even if the total ban is imple-
mented, the problems remain be-
cause there are existing slopes that
are not stable. Moreover, slopes that
are steeper than 35 degrees may be
safe while slopes that are gentler
may not be safe,” he said.
He said the stability of slopes
depended on a host of other factors
besides slope gradient.
They include rainfall intensity
and duration in the locality, the type
of soil, the geological formation, the
effectiveness of drainage system
briefs
Malacca to review
hillslope projects
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malacca gov-
ernment is taking note of the Bukit
Antarabangsa landslide incident and
will carry out a review on all hillslope
housing projects in the state.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd
Ali Rustam said yesterday the
review was necessary to prevent
similar incidents from happening in
the state.
“There are not many landslides
in Malacca. However we will carry
out a review on housing projects in
water catchment and hilly areas,”
he told reporters after a tour of the
Bukit Antarabangsa landslide area.
– Bernama
Rain forecast in
six states
KUALA LUMPUR: The weather-
man has forecast moderate to
heavy rainfall in several districts
of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang,
Johor and Malacca until today.
This can be expected to cause
| TUESDAY DECEMBER 9 2008
and the type of vegetation growing
on the slope.
“In addition, there is still a small
element of uncertainty concerning
the unknown and unquantifiable
factors that are beyond the state of
the art of geotechnical engineering
professionals,” he said.
Lee proposed that the way for-
ward would be the establishment of
a special purpose body dedicated to
slope safety management.
This body should be manned by
experts in geotechnical engineering
and complemented by engineering
geologists, soil erosion experts,
hydrologists, drainage experts,
environmentalists, lawyers, policy
makers and regulators.
Its role will be to regulate and
audit the investigation, design,
construction, monitoring and
maintenance of man-made slopes,
which include cut slopes, fill slopes
and retaining walls.
Besides its regulatory role, the
body should undertake research
and education, including forensic
investigation into landslides.
Its first task would be to work
with private home owners’ asso-
ciations and developers to carry out
risk assessment of every existing
slope that was a potential threat.
Any slope found to be unsafe
should be strengthened to the re-
quired level of safety, and defects in
the drainage system rectified.
For new hillside development,
this body should scrutinise the de-
sign, construction and maintenance
of man-made slopes to ensure com-
pliance with the highest standard of
engineering practice.
Above all, it should be vested
with statutory powers to approve
or reject any new hillside develop-
ment so that no town council or mu-
nicipality would issue a certificate
of fitness unless prior approval was
obtained from it.
floods in low-lying areas and
river banks, the Meteorological
Department said in a statement.
The department has also fore-
cast moderate to heavy rainfall
in Sarawak until tomorrow and
has warned that this could result
in floods in low-lying areas and
river banks. – Bernama
Bank offers help for
customers, workers
KUALA LUMPUR: Maybank an-
nounced yesterday a special finan-
cial relief scheme for its customers
and employees affected by the
Bukit Antarabangsa landslide.
President and chief executive of-
ficer Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar
said in a press statement that cus-
tomers with consumer, automobile
financing and business loans would
be given a deferment of monthly
installment payment to up to six
months on a case-by-case basis.
Credit card customers would
be given flexibility to defer their
monthly instalment payments and
lost or damaged credit cards would
be replaced.
The bank would also waive
charges for those who needed to
replace their ATM cards, cheque
books and passbooks. – Bernama