KUCHING: Khaider Mohammad has been spending sleepless nights worrying about his house which may collapse into the river during heavy downpours.
His fear is made worse by the fact that the soil erosion near his house has gotten worse due to the frequent heavy rain. His house is located less than three metres from the man-made river.
“One night, my wife and I had to rush out after hearing a loud noise from one of our bedrooms. At first we thought something fell to the floor. Then I realised it was the sound of the soil erosion next to the room,” he recalled.
Khaider said he immediately called for help from his neighbours before sending his wife to his father-in-law’s house not far from his house.
Next morning, he saw a huge hole next to the house as parts of the ground had collapsed into the river.
He said the erosion was primarily caused by the man-made river, which was built in 2007 to allow the construction of retaining walls surrounding Kampung Goebilt riverbank.
Ever since the incident, he said he seldom stayed in the house and had to squat at his in-law’s house.
“My house was badly affected by the project,” said the 36-year-old man who earns a living as a lorry driver.
He added that previously there were about four families residing in houses next to his who have now been relocated and compensated for giving way to development.
According to him, he spent more than RM40,000 to build the house in 2006 and would not be able to build another house like his former neighbours.
He said he had never thought that his house would be affected by the development project.
Yesterday, Santubong MP Datuk Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar inspected the area surrounding the house.
He pledged to speed up the construction of the retaining walls in the area and other areas in the vicinity of Kampung Goebilt.
“I hope they can speed up the construction. Once it is completed, only then can I hope to have a good sleep at night,” said Khaider.