IPOH: Residents from 10 houses in Taman Silibin Indah here are living in fear after they claimed that no action was taken by the authorities following soil erosion which caused the rear portion of their homes to sink.
The soil erosion which took place on May 14 at about 2pm had affected their kitchen ares and the structure of their homes also seemed unstable.
Resident Mohammad Rosli Mohammad Ginda said following the incident, authorities conducted checks and installed canvas sheets to cover the affected area to prevent further soil movements.
The 57-year-old electrician claimed since then, however, authorities had failed to check if there were nore soil movements.
"The soil movement has caused the canvas sheets to be torn and the affected residents here had to fork out their own money to buy a new one. We have been waiting for 19 days but nothing has happened.
"We can't have a good sleep, we can't have enough rest because we never know what will happen to us. We are afraid for our safety," he said today.
Rosli said a similar incident at Bukit Antarabangsa saw the government immediately approve RM2 million fund for remedial works.
"We are not illegal people, we pay assessment taxes every year. Why can't we be treated the same way? We urge the authorities to further examine the soil here and construct gabion walls to prevent further erosion," he said.
Kinta District Officer Halizah Sipun had reportedly said that the affected area would be covered with canvas and the river would be cleaned up as part of short-term measures.
For long-term measure, she said the Public Works Department would construct gabion walls as part of the slope stabilisation works to prevent further erosion in the area.
Meanwhile, a retired army officer, S. Moses James, 57, said he had written a letter to the Perak Menteri Besar's office on the matter but until today there was no reply.
"I had spent a lot to build this house. My family and I decided to stay here after I retired. In fact, we just finished paying our house loan a couple of months ago.
"I never thought that this would happen to my dream house. I am more than sad. What makes the situation worse is that no action has been taken so far. Now my storeroom is gone and my kitchen partly damaged," he added.