PETALING JAYA, Nov 13 — A environmental watchdog organisation had alerted the Pahang government and Tenaga Nasional Berhad last year to possible landslides along the Karak Highway where a mud deluge occurred on Wednesday because of the clearing of forests.     

But the warning in a letter by Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Sekitar (Peka) appears to have fallen on deaf ears as little was done to arrest the situation near the town of Lentang.

TNB responded to say it had erected a tower in the area but that others had taken advantage of the project.

Peka president Puan Sri Shariffa Sabrina Syed Akil said she had written the letter on Jan 20 last year to TNB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Azman Mohd, objecting to the clearing of forests at Km54.3 of the highway.

The letter listed how hill clearing could cause soil erosion and landslides.

A copy of the letter was sent to Pahang Menteri Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, former natural resources and environment minister Datuk Seri G. Palanivel and Pahang State Forestry Department director Datuk Mohd Paiz Kamaruzaman.

Shariffa Sabrina said the area including Bukit Tinggi, Genting Highlands, Janda Baik and Lentang was part of a mountain range that should not have been disturbed after Karak Highway was built.

“Logging, land clearing and development should not have been done in the area,” she said.

Shariffa Sabrina said logging activities could not be seen as the area was behind the hills near the highway.

She said it was a primary forest and a water catchment area where trees were huge with great commercial value.

“When we disturb the ecosystem there, landslides, mudslides and mud flooding will tend to occur,” she said.

Shariffa Sabrina said logging and clearing of forests were also happening in other areas in the state, including Raub and Hulu Jelai, and that an aerial view would reveal this.

“We wrote the letter, telling them what was going on but nobody cared,” she said.TNB senior general manager (corporate affairs and communications) Datuk Mohd Aminuddin Mohd Amin said two transmission line projects had been carried out about 800m from the area affected by  Wednesday’s landslide.

He said the projects were a 500kV transmission line from the main intake substation in Bentong South to Lenggeng, and a 275kV transmission line from the substation to Ampang.

“TNB always complies with conditions imposed by the technical departments, especially the Forestry Department, besides complying with legal requirements,” he said.

Aminuddin said the company stressed environmental conservation in all its projects.