Gathering in memory of Bukit Antarabangsa victims

KUALA LUMPUR: A gathering was held Sunday Dec 6 in memory of the victims of the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide on Dec 6 last year which took five lives and destroyed 14 bungalows in Taman Bukit Mewah, Hulu Klang.

Coalition of Bukit Antarabangsa Residents Associations (CoBARA) chairman Shahrul Hafiz Teh Abdullah said a year on, the memory of the tragedy was still vivid in the people’s minds and emotion s ran high as residents
recounted their personal experiences and sense of loss.

The residents felt that they wanted to move forward by adopting more proactive measures in monitoring their own surroundings to prevent a repeat of last years’ occurrence, he said in a statement.

Shahrul Hafiz said a group of residents got together to form CoBARA in December 2008, with the objective of monitoring slopes to prevent and mitigate the recurrence of landslides.

"With this aim in mind, CoBARA launched the Community SlopeWatch programme in May 2009 with funding from Force of Nature and The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW).

"The Community SlopeWatch programme is completely volunteer-driven, where local residents are encouraged to monitor their own surroundings and to pool information between communities on any relevant updates," he added.

CoBARA has been actively engaging the local residents through educational talks in several communities throughout Bukit Antarabangsa.

In conjunction with International Volunteers Day on Dec 5, CoBARA held a roadshow together with Mercy Malaysia, the Public Works Department and Bernama at Craven Café in Bukit Antarabangsa where exhibitions and talks were presented on Disaster Risk Reduction and Slope Safety. - Bernama