A few months ago, MPSP President Haji Mokhtar Mohd Jait had visited the flooded areas and the houses which suffered structural damage due to the new sewage plant construction nearby. His visit was greeted with enthusiasm by the residents as they hoped it would signal the return of the DID to the negotiating table. But the follow-up meeting after the visit did not bring about any positive result.
Fed-up with the situation, the residents of Taman Kota Permai led by Bernard Cheen handed over a memorandum to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng on Jan 1. Ng Wei Aik, Lim's political secretary was assigned to look into the matter quickly. However, despite strong support from the state government and the MPSP, no concrete solutions have yet to be drawn out for the victims.
A meeting had even been called to iron out the grievances between the residents and the DID. Representatives from the Penang state government, the MPSP and DID were amongst those present at the meeting.
The state government and the related parties should understand that the residents have endured much difficulties continuously for the past three years. To date, according to Bernard Cheen, at least 30 flash floods have occurred at the area.
One resident, Tan Ah Heok, 83 said: "When it rains heavily at night, we cannot sleep because we need to keep a watchful eye on the water level. How can we live like this?"
Video by Jimmy Leow Beng Hock, Citizen Journalist.
