Disturbing leaks and cracks at flats
The Star 4/4/2005 By Dharmender Singh

TAMAN PERMATA low cost flats dwellers want the authorities to check their premises to determine if they are in danger due to cracks that have started appearing in their units following the aftershock experienced on Tuesday. 

Resident M. Saraswathy who lives at the top floor of Block 5 at the flats said she had been experiencing problems such as cracks and water seeping through her roof even before the aftershock but it had become much worse now. 

The cracks that have started appearing on the staircase of the Block 5 of the Taman Permata flats.

She said the amount of volume of water seeping through her roof now was so much that her family had to step out of the hall and one of the three rooms in her unit. 

``I cannot switch on the ceiling fan in my hall for a few days after each time it rains as the whole circuitry gets wet and it could cause a short circuit if I try to switch it on,'' she said. 

She said the long crack near the ceiling in her kitchen had been only a hairline one until the aftershock when it became larger and cracks had also started to appear in her bathroom. 

Another resident D. Dawajothy said she too had been facing similar problems in her unit and there was a new vertical crack that had appeared in her balcony area that had made her worried. 

She said her kids usually spent a lot of time in the balcony looking out and she now told them to stay away as she did not know if it was still safe to do so. 

She said she had wanted to make a complaint to have her unit checked but like her neighbours did not know which authority to contact. 

``I live on the fourth floor of the walk-up flats and I am worried that if there is a structural problem which causes a collapse my family might not be able to evacuate the building in time,'' she said. 

Datuk C.Krishnan, who is a councillor with the Sepang District Council (MDS), urged the council to conduct a check at the units affected as soon as possible due to the fears over the structural strength of the building. 

He said the council should send in a technical team to conduct the necessary tests to determine if the structure was affected and if the cracks that had started appearing were the result of the aftershock experienced on Tuesday. 

He said cracks had also started appearing on the stairs at the flats.