Johor floods-Was reclamation responsible?

Singapore reclamation work seems to be having environmental impact
(The Star)

TO the naked eye, it is clear that reclamation work by Singapore have resulted in Pulau Tekong, which belongs to the republic, coming too close to Malaysia, Utusan Malaysia said.

The newspaper had sent a team on a boat ride in the Straits of Johor to check on the reclamation there and ascertain if it could have caused the bad flooding in Johor recently.

The team said that from the boat, they could clearly see that Singapore had reclaimed land far into the sea towards Malaysia and the waters on the Singapore side have become so narrow that it could not be used even by small boats.

The newspaper said the reclamation had also made the Johor River and the Straits of Johor shallow and this had affected the flow of water.

Pasir Gogok Fishermen Association chairman Ismail Hassan said he had received many complaints from members that the water which used to be 60m deep was now only 40m.

He believed the narrowing and sedimentation of the Johor River from reclamation work meant that the water could not flow freely into the straits.

He added the shallower river had resulted in the water overflowing its banks and flooding Kota Tinggi.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar downplayed remarks by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, saying there were "all sorts of possibilities" that had led to the devastation.

"Before we give any view about what triggered the floods and all this sort of thing, we are going to undertake a technical study," Syed Hamid told reporters.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also had dismissed Ghani’s remarks.

The Johor MB had said the recent floods that devastated the state may have been caused by Singapore’s land reclamation work on Pulau Tekong opposite the mouth of Sungai Johor.

He had said the reclamation had effectively plugged the mouth of Sungai Johor, causing it to burst its banks after torrential rains in January and flood the inland town of Kota Tinggi.

Yesterday, Singapore rejected Ghani’s claim.

"The comments are unfounded," Singapore’s Ministry of National Development said in a statement.

"This is confirmed by the results from technical studies that were commissioned separately by both the Malaysian government and the Singapore government," the ministry said.

Singapore has rebutted the claim and even Malaysia 's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has distanced himself from his colleague's statement.

"There are all sorts of allegations but we can't reach any conclusion unless a thorough technical study is done on the cause of floods in Johor," he said. "The actual cause of the floods is exceptionally heavy rainfall."

Meanwhile Singapore's Ministry of National Development (MND) said in response to media queries: "The comments are unfounded. This is confirmed by the results from the technical studies that were commissioned separately by both the Malaysia n government and the Singapore government."

The studies were carried out as part of the proceedings before the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to settle the dispute on Singapore's land reclamation works at Pulau Tekong and Tuas View Extension.

The MND pointed out that a study carried out by Malaysia 's Department of Irrigation and Drainage in 2002 on the impact of the reclamation works should there were no appreciable changes to the water levels within the Straits of Johor for flood flows.

"As such, the study concluded that there is no increased flooding due to Singapore's reclamation works," said the MND. Other studies came to similar conclusions.

Both governments then accepted that it would not be necessary for the flood impact to be assessed any further.

"There is, therefore, no scientific basis to the allegations that the flood is caused by Singapore's land reclamation works in Pulau Tekong," said the MND.

The Johor administration has come under increasing pressure in the wake of the floods that killed 17 people and left Malaysia with a massive RM1.5 billion bill — the cost of helping the flood victims and repairing roads and schools. About 30,000 people are still taking shelter at relief centres.

Until now the Johor government had not pointed fingers at anybody over the floods. In fact, it had been banking on visitors from Singapore to help bring its economy back on its feet

Did Singapore’s Reclamation Works Cause Kota Tinggi’s Drowning?
(Malaysia watch2- H J Angus)

It would be difficult to determine if this reclamation project is indeed the cause of the river not being able to discharge the flood waters as quickly as before unless we have evidence to show that the river’s mean velocity has indeed been reduced by the project.

It is basic science that if something is obstructing the flow of water, the flow will be affected but the actual quantum should be based on proper measurements studies on the change in the characteristics of the river.

The project commenced in 2002 and Malaysia took the case to the ITLOS in 2003 who ruled in Singapore’s favour with the agreement that “the recommendations of the experts would be used as the basis of a "mutually acceptable and beneficial solution". “

Our case to make this claim will be weakened if we did not do the following as soon as the project started:

• Monitor the water flow average velocity
• Measure the rate of silting along river course and mouth
• Size of the reclaimed island
• Changes in the tide

And correlate all the results. Of course presupposing that there had been no illegal logging further upstream.

We had at least one year to get monthly readings on these and other(?) data but did we provide ITLOS any data to support our complaints?

Now with the Kota Tinggi floods we start to point fingers again but what happened to the experts and their recommendations?

Otherwise a river widening and deepening project should have been a priority for the 9MP. Speaking of land reclamation works, the bridge to Permas Jaya gives a very good view of a major land reclamation works on the JB side. The massive clearing of the mangrove and major construction works here may also may been the cause of some of the floods.


Malaysia Johor flood Singapore Singapore reclamation work