Floods and traffic on Batu Tiga voters’ minds

WHEN there is continuous rain, Sungai Anak Damansara in Batu Tiga will overflow and wreak havoc on surrounding areas.

Particularly affected are low-cost households in the vicinity, with roads inundated and the rail service disrupted.

In civil servant Iruwan Afrizal Mohd Noor’s view, whoever is chosen as the next assemblyman of Batu Tiga must understand the area well.

“Each time it rains, Sungai Anak Damansara overflows and water gushes across Lorong Intan 1.

“Residents will move their vehicles to higher ground but our houses will get flooded with water reaching knee-level,” he said while pointing at the water mark on the wall.

The father-of-three has lived in Taman Batu Tiga for eight years with his wife Siti Hasmah Ibrahim, and feels the floods are getting worse.

Iruwan says every time the sky turns grey, he becomes worried that his house may get flooded.

“Each time it rains, I get worried. I want the future Batu Tiga assemblyman to resolve flooding here,” said Iruwan.

Another resident, Jeffry Mamat said people were tired as flooding was a recurring issue.

“Any flood mitigation plan should be done in consultation with the community,” he added.

Jeffry said traffic congestion too had worsened during rush hour in Batu Tiga, which is a state seat under the Shah Alam parliamentary constituency.

Muda’s Saiyidah Izzati will look into Batu Tiga’s flooding.

“I would suggest that shuttle buses be provided during peak hours to reduce single-occupant vehicles,” he said.

Laundry outlet owner Salmihan Zakaria said the future assemblyman should improve the image of the constituency.

“More closed-circuit television cameras should be placed in high-risk areas and connected to a police control centre or Shah Alam City Council,” she said.

Retired government servant Nor Azian Zulkifli wants green areas in Batu Tiga to be spruced up and turned into pocket parks.

“There is a need for community facilities catering to older adults,” she said.

Batu Tiga’s strategic location is accessible through major expressways such as Elite, North Klang Valley Expressway, Federal Highway and Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas).

With 75,486 voters, Malays in Batu Tiga make up the majority at 56,536. The rest are Indians (11,662), Chinese (5,636), Sabahans (434), Sarawakians (188), Orang Asli (15) while other ethnicities constitute 1,015 voters.

Pakatan’s Danial has served as an MBSA councillor before.

Batu Tiga was won by Rodziah Ismail of PKR in 2018 with a 15,616-vote majority.

In the state polls, Batu Tiga will see a three-way fight. Contesting the seat are Muda’s Saiyidah Izzati Nur Razak Maideen, 35, who is a lawyer better known as Cheda, adjunct associate professor with a private university Danial Al-Rashid Haron from Pakatan Harapan-Amanah and Datuk Seri Rina Harun representing Perikatan Nasional-Bersatu.

Saiyidah was in the news when she roped in 150 volunteers to help victims during the devastating floods of December 2021.“I will be addressing this long-standing issue of floods,” she said.

Perikatan’s Rina will focus on bread-and-butter issues.

Danial served as a Shah Alam city councillor from 2018 to 2020.

“I want to improve the socio-economic conditions of the population, including helping empower special children and the disabled,” he said.

Rina, who is former women, family and community development minister, said her focus would be on bread-and-butter issues.