BATU PAHAT: For the seventh time in five months, a seawall in Kampung Sungai Berong Laut, Rengit, has collapsed.
The crumbled embankment wall erected to prevent the seawater from encroaching on or eroding the land, caused more than 15 houses submerged, and residents scrambling for safety.
The coastal barrier repeated failures, have destroyed crops, killed livestock, and left many residents without a source of income.
Resident Zainal Ahmad, 59, said families had been forced to move repeatedly whenever high tide hit, as seawater gushed through the broken seawall.
“As long as the seawall remains unrepaired, we’ll keep facing floods. The structure has long been weak and should have been upgraded years ago,” he said.
Another villager, Norsidah Abu, 52, said floods had become a fortnightly ordeal.
“It’s the seventh collapse in just five months. When the water comes in, we move to the temporary shelter at SK Seri Sempurna. This is the worst I’ve seen since I was a child,” she said.
Batu Pahat member-of-parliament Onn Abu Bakar urged the Energy Transition and Water Transformation Ministry (PETRA) and the Irrigation and Drainage Department to conduct proper repairs using qualified contractors and to compensate affected residents.
“I have raised the issue in Parliament. Each high tide forces villagers to evacuate again. Their oil palm, banana crops and livestock are destroyed, their livelihoods are gone,” he said.
The repeated seawall failures highlight long-standing issues of poor coastal infrastructure and delayed maintenance in Johor’s shoreline communities, which have become increasingly vulnerable to tidal surges and rising sea levels in recent years.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
