To begin with, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) is said by the residents to be allegedly the richest municipality in the country because they are said to collect more assessments each year than any other council.

This is what MPSJ could do to resolve the periodic and sporadic floods in and around 101 Mall instead of finding excuses like rainfall was too heavy on the day it got flooded and because the drains had been blocked. They also blamed it on construction works in the vicinity, among others.

The council did not confirm how and what steps MPSJ will take to make the area flood-free.

A photo in a news report showed a group of people, among them a councillor from MPSJ, looking down the monsoon drain opposite the 101 Mall.

Anyone can see that the drain is too small and narrow and that the embankment is covered with patches of shrubs, weeds and grass.

It was reported that MPSJ have already deployed workers to carry out desilting works.

Apparently, this may not be the first attempt to solve the flooding problems there faced by shop tenants in 101 Mall and shoppers.

This rectification work to desilt the drains is artificial and superficial.

Yes it works but only temporarily. So it does not stop the floods. Thus, why waste time and taxpayers’ money doing something impermanent, knowing the flood will recur soon during the monsoon seasons, especially with the drains getting choked up with silt again.

So it is a lame excuse to blame the rain. For your information nobody can stop the rain. But there are ways and solutions that we can do to divert the flow to keep floods at bay.

Certainly, the public here have read news that Orchard Road in Singapore was flooded and some of the malls in the vicinity had been hit badly, and Lucky Plaza was not spared.

The relevant authorities in Singapore quickly met and sat down for days to come up with a concrete plan to help put a stop to floods in Orchard Road once and for all. And they did it successfully.

Now, this is what they have done.

  • The drains have been deepened and widened after clearing debris and waste products,
  • The drain holes or ducts for roads were all made bigger, apart from adding extra ducts to allow smoother and faster drainage,
  • But this is what keeps the rainwater from overflowing its ‘banks’. The relevant authorities in Singapore have erected a ‘dyke’ of sorts to raise the height of the kerb. And made the road a little lower, they had to scrape down the old surface to tar it back. Thus, the rainwater is drained off more quickly with all these put in place. Yes, they have actually succeeded keeping Orchard Road flood-free till today.
Now, MPSJ should likewise carry out such works to help put a final stop to flooding in 101 Mall and its surrounding areas, which at the end of the day will save taxpayers’ money and time.

LAU BING is a community activist and writer in Subang Jaya.