MALACCA: The Malacca Club Rotunda annexe came under siege by nature today, confirming what has been for months public fear of dangerous levels of erosion at the Kampung Hailam beach, that culminated in the club's guard post collapsing into the sea today.
This has also raised public outcry over possible excessive land reclamation works, which have been ever-expanding along Malacca's 70-kilometre coast.
Under heavy pounding from waves, the road accessing the Rotunda from the main road that passes through Kampung Hailam's jetty is also under severe threat while by its side, a recreational platform used by villagers for morning exercises and a lookout point - which was still intact yesterday - crumbled.
This was already deemed an inevitable conclusion two months ago by the Malacca Club, in its letter to the Malacca Historical City Council (MBMB), calling for attention to the level of erosion.
“It’s going to get worse,” said Kampung Hailam resident and Malacca Club member Lim Heng Tin, 66.
The New Straits Times was first alerted to the matter in October. A visit to the site saw only about five metres of beach separating the sea from the Rotunda's boundary, indicated by a green fence, which back then stood upright.
On Wednesday, several club members began sounding the alarm, calling for another site visit, which revealed the beach to be in disarray, with the front portion of the Rotunda's fencing already having collapsed through immense pounding from waves during high tide.
“I've not seen this level of erosion all my life," said Lim, who was born and raised in Kampung Hailam.
“The beach used to be 50-metres wide and now it is gone. This only began happening over the past 10 years, since reclamation works began,” he said.
Malacca Club president Kumar Shanmugam said the club committee will be addressing the matter with MBMB on Monday, while calling for a swift meeting among all stakeholders.
“We've raised the matter with MBMB, so we will be following up again and push for a solution,” he said.