PN candidate caught in wave of questions on flood issue
He said the owner of one of the houses along Sungai Melantai complained that the local authorities and the village chief failed to solve the persistent floods.
He then pledged his assistance but appeared to be...
MAHKOTA BY-ELECTION | A wave of questions surrounding flood mitigation efforts in Kampung Bentong, Kluang, arose during a visit by Perikatan Nasional candidate Haizan Jaafar today.
He said the owner of one of the houses along Sungai Melantai complained that the local authorities and the village chief failed to solve the persistent floods.
He then pledged his assistance but appeared to be caught off guard when asked by reporters what he would do to resolve the two-decades-long flooding issue.
“We will enlarge the river,” Haizan said, to which a reporter pointed out that the river could not be widened any further.
Haizan then replied, “Dig deeper.”
The same reporter then said RM800,000 was already allocated for river deepening.
This prompted Haizan to seek help from former village chief Zailan Kadir, who was also a part of the visit to the constituency, to respond on his behalf.
According to Zailan, flooding has occurred frequently since 2004, massively affecting the lives of residents.
“Normally, when heavy rain lasts for more than 40 minutes, this village floods with waist-high water, and if it rains too long, the water can reach the roof,” he said.
He claimed “no progress” was made on the construction of a 35ha Sungai Melantai flood retention pond, despite past queries by Mengkibol state assemblyperson Chew Chong Sin.
Regardless, Haizan insisted he would fulfil his promise to solve the flooding problem in the area.
“If I win the election in the Mahkota state constituency, I will take action and bring this issue to the state assembly. I will be a strong voice of opposition,” he said.
In May last year, Chew said RM5 million was allocated to the Sungai Melantai flood retention project under the Johor Five-Year Plan.
The Election Commission has set the Mahkota by-election for Sept 28, with early voting on Sept 24.
