COMMENT Malaysian politicians have one big problem whenever a natural disaster hits.

This is what put Malaysia on the map for all the wrong reasons. For example, the Km52.4 of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Expressway landslip has been front-paged by the Straits Times in Singapore, not to mention that the loss of the MH370 aircraft and the way our politicians handled the issue - including Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak appearing in the newspapers with his ‘RM1-a-chicken’ pose - all this has damaged the country’s reputation around the world.

Many years ago, a former works minister was fond of saying that natural disasters are ‘the act of God’. While what the minister concerned, S Samy Vellu, said may be true, some ‘natural’ disasters are in fact caused by man’s greed and negligence. Earthquakes and other natural disasters are unavoidable, but collapse of bridges, buildings and even floods and landslides aren’t, if we only learn from our mistakes.

Too many of these disasters have happened in the country, but because of the attitude of our country’s leaders, we are never learning from the mistakes that we made in the past.

The Highland Towers can repeat itself, if we are not careful. For example, as mentioned in an earlier article , geological studies conducted at a special area in Tambun showed the dangers to nearby high-rise condominium and hotel, if building on a piece of land that was designated for utilities and infrastructures had proceeded.

The case is now in court, and Menteri Besar Inc chief executive officer Aminudin Hashim has confirmed via e-mail that work has not resumed pending the case.

Denying that the information Malaysiakini had obtained from residents was accurate, Aminudin prefers not to comment on the matter further as it would be considered sub-judice, but residents are merely concerned about their own safety so they had to finally bring the matter to court.

Meanwhile, land-clearing activities encroaching into the green belt of Ipoh, which Aminudin has also confirmed that he has no knowledge about, have now fallen on the laps of the Ipoh City Council (MBI). There are apparently other landowners and part of the land was gazetted for terrace houses; however, the concern raised by residents is that land-clearing activities have appeared to encroach into the forest reserve.

Malaysiakini is awaiting a response from Ipoh City mayor Zambri Man.

The Ipoh 2020 Masterplan showed that part of the land which residents alleged had seemingly been encroached into is part of the gazette forest reserve, and this is what is worrying to the residents.

The onus is on Perak Menteri Besar Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir to investigate the matter and immediately issue a stop-work order to whoever is responsible for the encroachment. But has the state government done anything after the issue was highlighted? Why is it that the matter has to be taken up by residents who are always at their wit's end trying to find the culprits?

Taking after the Roman prefect?

A corrupted prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26–36, Pontius Pilate, washed his hands after he handed Jesus over to be crucified. Since then, it has become known as Pilate’s Hand Wash.

In the latest landslip that hit the Karak Highway, Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob ( photo ) rapped the media for what he calls 'spreading false information about uncontrolled logging activities in Bukit Tinggi and Janda Baik'.

Adnan should not blame the media, and instead respond appropriately to Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Malaysia (Peka) which believes that the landslip could be due to uncontrolled logging activities in the Lentang Forest Reserve area.

At the very least, the state government should engage independent local geologists to study soil stability and understand the geological impact of unsustainable logging activities in the state.

This is not only happening to the logging activities in Pahang, but in major hill resorts. A huge part of the Cameron Highlands, for example, has been cleared indiscriminately, turning the highland resort into a potential time bomb for both residents and tourists.

Adnan has admitted that there were logging activities in the vicinity. As menteri besar, he should realise that logging in any area will affect the ecology of the entire area. Trees are part of the ecology of the area and they help in water retention on the hills. When the trees are removed, massive soil movement will cause a major landslide like what we witnessed recently.

It can also lead to major floods. Both Kelantan and Terengganu have seen one of the worst floods ever at the end of last year. This is nothing new in Malaysia. Many years ago, while driving on my way to Penang, I stopped by the PLUS expressway to see the impact of the flood that hit Pos Dipang, which cost so many lives.

In Malaysia, the politicians appear to be oblivious to the cry of Mother Nature and people die in vain due to the lack of concern shown by the leaders towards the environment.

When can we ever learn and do things right? While it is understandable that people make mistakes, do we ever learn from our mistakes?

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.