Risky trees along Janda Baik roads to be identified and felled

KUANTAN – Trees along roads in Janda Baik, including the Old Bentong-Kuala Lumpur Road, will be identified and felled to prevent another fatal tree-fall tragedy.

Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said immediate action would be taken through cooperation between the Public Works Department (JKR) and the local authorities (PBT) involved.

"We have to move on, we are not out to count whether it is the PBT or JKR. The incident has happened and our action is to resolve the problem immediately.

"I have asked the local authorities exco and the Public Works exco, as co-chairmen, to call in all parties involved as a matter of urgency," he told reporters at the Jelajah Aspirasi Pahang 1st Inderapura state constituency programme at the Sungai Belat fishermen's jetty in Kampung Belukar here yesterday. (Quotes translated from Malay.)

Wan Rosdy said the state government would not stay silent and would act swiftly on the issue as it involved public safety.

He said JKR would hold discussions with the local authorities, with all views on resolving the matter given immediate attention and priority given to areas that have been identified.

Kosmo! reported yesterday that behind the natural beauty and scenery along the Old KL-Bentong Road in Bentong lies a silent threat from hundreds of large trees, decades old, on the hill slopes along the route.

The situation is seen as a potential "time bomb" for the thousands of motorists who use the road daily, including holidaymakers heading to Janda Baik and Bentong on weekends.

The tragedy that claimed the lives of four family members near the Janda Baik arch last Sunday showed that the risk of falling trees does not necessarily occur only during heavy rain or storms.

In the incident at about 12.30pm, four members of a family died and one was injured after the Ford Raptor they were travelling in was crushed by a falling tree near the Janda Baik arch.

Those killed were Maran UMNO Youth chief Mohd Radzi Rahimi, 40; his wife Nuraini Muhammad Jafri, 36; their child Muhammad Rizz Hazim, 5; and his brother-in-law Mohammad Nizam Mohammad Jafri, 35.