KUALA LUMPUR: Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed is baffled how rainwater was trapped atop Taman Bukit Mewah Which he believes led to the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide last Saturday.
"I find it odd for rainwater to have been trapped in the granite rock-filled dense rainforest.
"Why wasn't there proper drainage when water will find its own natural gradient to flow?
"I suspect this is caused by humans, so let's not blame Mother Nature," he told Public Works Department (PWD) engineers.
Zin ordered the PWD, which is spearheading a three month geotechnical, forensics and integrity probe of the slope and building structure stability, to come up with answers on the cause of the land slide and provide recommendations to avert disasters.
"It looks like the landslide was avoidable.
"We Can't just blame it on deforestation It's a lesson well learnt and we have to respect Mother nature.
"I hope to obtain a preliminary report on the probable cause of the landslide in a month?s time and will brief the cabinet next Friday," he said after a briefing by senior PWD officers at Bukit Antarabangsa yesterday.
Among them were PWD director-general Datuk Seri Dr Judin Karim, deputy director-general 111 N. Selvanayagam and senior engineer Kamar Kassim of its slope engineering branch.
Kamar gave briefing on the topographical development in Bukit Antarabangsa since 1969.
Zin said PWD would be assisted by the mapping Department , Drainage and Irrigation Department, the Meteorological Services Department, Mineral and Geosciences Department, Housing and local Government Ministry, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, Department of Environment and several foreign experts.
"We hope to begin clearing the debris from tomorrow and complete the task within a month.
"In the meantime, site and mapping-failure investigation will proceed.
"However, we have to tread cautiously when clearing the base of the landslide so as not to destabilize the slope and cause another landslide."
He said then landslide had brought down 120,000 cubic meters (about 20,000 lorry loads) of earth over an area 200m long, 100m wide and 10m deep.
It left four dead, one missing, 15 injured, 14 houses destroyed and nine damage.
Zin said a manually-operated emergency warning system had helped evacuate 93 residents from Taman bukit Mewah, Jalan Wangsa 9 and 11, Impian Selatan condominium and Jalan BJ6A of Taman Bukit Jaya to safety, shortly after the 3.40am landslide.
Gombak member of parliament Mohamed Azmin Ali, who was present at the briefing, asked the PWD to speed up remedial work for the new school term.
He said the 5,000 Bukit Antarabangs residents used a total of 4,785 vehicles along the narrow and congested neighborhood roads.
Zin said PWD would tar the damaged main access road as soon as possible.
"PWD will expedite the construction of a Bailey's tactical bridge along an alternate access road.
"Mobile traffic lights will also be installed to ease congestion."