Baling flood: Kedah MB accepts ministry’s finding on its cause
Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said his government will accept the Environment and Water Ministry’s findings regarding the cause of the flood near Baling on July 4, which contradicts his earlier claim.
On July 7, Sanusi reportedly dismissed claims that the flood was caused by a burst water reservoir in a Musang King durian plantation at Gunung Inas.
According to an Utusan Malaysia report...
Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said his government will accept the Environment and Water Ministry’s findings regarding the cause of the flood near Baling on July 4, which contradicts his earlier claim.
On July 7, Sanusi reportedly dismissed claims that the flood was caused by a burst water reservoir in a Musang King durian plantation at Gunung Inas.
According to an Utusan Malaysia report, the menteri besar said he had made an aerial survey of the scene alongside the police and found the reservoir to be still there, as well as another area where water is collected and pumped into the reservoir.
However, Environment and Water Minister Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man told Parliament today that preliminary investigations found that a breached reservoir is a probable cause of the flood.
“It may have been caused by a reservoir built in those agricultural areas that may have been breached.
“In our preliminary study, we found a burst reservoir that made it possible for the headwater surge to occur,” Sanusi (above) said.
The incident could not have been due to rain alone, as nearby villages only measured up to 40mm of rainfall, which is not considered heavy.
In light of the ministry’s findings, Sanusi reportedly said his government will find a solution as soon as possible to prevent a recurrence.
“The ministry has made such a conclusion, so the state government accepts the reason. According to the ministry’s study, there was a reservoir pool that burst, causing floods and headwater surges in Baling.
“On our part, I was informed yesterday that the Kedah State Forestry Department planned to plant trees immediately in Gunung Inas,” Bernama quoted him as saying.
What to plant next?
He added the state government will now have to decide the type of crop to be planted on Gunung Inas, which was initially approved for planting timber latex clone (TLC; a rubber tree variety harvested both for latex and timber) but was later converted into a durian plantation.
“I had ordered for cover crops (to be planted) two years ago but now it is a question of ‘who’ to do the planting. The company given approval wants to plant durian, but to maintain a forest plantation, it would have to grow TLC mixed with only 20 percent of durian.
“If forest trees are planted (for cover), they cannot be cut down later so there will be no (economic) returns but if you grow durian, the fruit can be sold (for gains). If the company feels that a certain crop will not give returns on its investment and decides to pull out, the next question is who will do the planting,” he posed.
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