MP glad Klang in happiest cities list, but says floods and other problems still a downer

KLANG, March 31 — Federal lawmaker V. Ganabatirau said he was glad Klang has been identified as one of Malaysia’s top 10 happiest cities, but did not want this to paper over issues that continue to affect the local community.

Ganabatirau said that, for example, many areas in Klang were still prone to flooding, including upscale areas such as Bukit Raja and Bukit Tinggi where homes could fetch up to RM3 million.

“These two townships are worth billions of ringgit, but they get flooded. Are our planning officers not competent enough?” he said, when met at an event in Persiaran Bukit Raja last night.

“In some places, drains have not been touched (not cleaned) for years, for example at Jalan Persiaran Raja Muda,” he added.

He also cited a 2019 report released by the Centre for Governance and Political Studies (Cent-GPS) — which said that several coastal cities in the country including Klang would be underwater in about 30 years due to rising sea levels — as a cause for worry.

Furthermore, he said many roads in Klang were in a state of disrepair.

Ganabatirau also said that the public is often unaware that MPs and other elected representatives were unable to affect matters such as the tender process for the maintenance of drainage and flood-related facilities — the authority of which he said is given to local councils, the public works department or the irrigation and drainage department.

“We don’t even sit on the tender boards,” he said, adding that more public awareness is needed on issues relating to local governance processes.

This comes after the Selangor Journal reported yesterday that Klang was recognised as one of the 10 happiest cities in Malaysia for 2022, by a study conducted under the Ministry of Local Government Development.

The study reportedly utilised a questionnaire involving 42,000 respondents from 117 local authority jurisdiction areas around the country.

The other nine cities that also made the cut were Selangor’s Petaling Jaya, Manjung in Perak, Kluang in Johor, Gua Musang and Kuala Krai in Kelantan, Kuala Pilah in Negeri Sembilan, Kuantan and Rompin in Pahang, and Alor Gajah in Melaka.