FLOOD DISASTERS AT HOUSING AREAS IN MALAYSIA: A PLANNING LAW PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Flood in housing projects is typical in Malaysia, particularly during monsoon and tropical wet seasons. There are various causes to it. These include heavy monsoon rain, flawed drainage system, insufficient planning system, inadequate flood risk management strategy, exorbitant rainfall, rapid melting snow and ice, dams or levees breaking, and rising ocean storm surge and sea level. The catastrophe has resulted in pecuniary and non-pecuniary losses to the purchaser residents. Flood is one of the important matters that developers must address during the development planning stage. The developer should get views and approvals from relevant technical agencies, including the agencies responsible for governing safety and security against flood disasters, for instance, the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS). This paper aims to study flood legal issues and examine the planning law relating to floods in housing projects. It also provides suggestions for improving the current planning law in dealing with this catastrophe. This paper uses legal and qualitative research methodology, particularly concerning eliciting information through available literature and sources to study the problem. This paper finds that lacunae in the planning law have contributed to flooding occurrences in housing projects. Specific suggestions are provided in the ending part of this paper to deal with the flood disaster problems. This paper, it is submitted, can improve the current policy and planning law in housing development, particularly the housing development guidelines and the current National Housing Policy (DPN)(2018-2025)