KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 — The Public Works Department (PWD) today directed 18 families occupying the PWD and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) quarters in Jalan San Peng here to move out of their homes immediately.
Public Works Deputy Director-General II Datuk Mohd Noor Yaacob said the order was issued after it was found that 22 units of the quarters, including 12 owned by PWD, four of which were unoccupied, were unsafe due to sinkholes in the area which happened yesterday.
He said the affected families would be given temporary accommodation at a nearby hotel and given RM25 per person for three days before being given a choice to move to other quarters.
“Eight families, comprising 59 people, occupying the PWD quarters have been offered to stay at five vacant quarters in the area which are not affected by the sinkholes.
“The can also opt to move to other PWD quarters in the Sungai Besi area or to the People’s Housing Project(PPRT) in Jalan Puchong offered by Kuala Lumpur City Hall,” he told reporters during a visit to the scene.
As for families occupying the DBKL quarters, their eviction process would be handled by the City Hall, he added. Mohd Noor said water and electricity supply to areas in Jalan San Peng would be reconnected today.
Meanwhile, a resident, Abd Wahab Ismail, 45, believed the sinkholes occurred because of construction work of a 19-storey building at Jalan Gelugor, about 50 metres from the quarters.
He claimed that the developer of the construction project was late in taking remedial actions despite various complaints lodged by residents in the area.
Abd Wahab, an administrative assistant at the Works Ministry, claimed that he heard a loud explosion before the sinkholes occurred.
He had been staying at the quarters with his wife and three children since 1988.
A single mother, R. Santahama, 52, said she had stayed at the quarters with her three children since 30 years ago.
“Since the past few months, we have felt slight tremors, causing cracks on the walls to our houses. We lodged complaints, but no action was taken,” she added.
Santahama said she had decided to move to the vacant quarters in the area. —Bernama
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