KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The heavy downpour yesterday which led to massive floods and landslides in Pahang had also affected residents and visitors of the popular holiday town Fraser’s Hill.
The series of landslides triggered by non-stop downpour since yesterday led to the main road to Fraser’s Hill being cut off.
The landslides brought down heavy debris onto the roads leading to Fraser’s Hill, or in some cases destroying portions of it.
This has left travellers and residents either unable to use the roads or having to take turns to go back and forth as authorities work around the clock to resolve the issue.
The landslides also disconnected vital water piping to Fraser’s Hill, which has been left high and dry since yesterday.
One such individual affected is bed-and-breakfast proprietor Luqman Hakim Hogg. The long-time resident of Fraser’s Hill said it has been close to 24 hours since they last had water.
“Right now the landslides on the loop road on top of the hill mean people can only go down or come up from a certain point since clearing work is still underway,” he told Malay Mail.
Hogg has been trying to find out whether a water pipe repair team has been dispatched from Raub to Fraser’s Hill, but with no success thus far.
“I have been trying to contact one of the local water repairmen in Fraser’s Hill to ask if a team will be sent. He has not responded, which is not surprising as I am certain he has his hands full.
“Due to the disruption, I have had to send off a number of my guests from my establishments since we cannot operate properly without water. Some guests were supposed to arrive today, and I had to cancel on them as well,” he said.
Hogg said this also includes guests who were scheduled to arrive in Fraser’s Hill on Thursday, adding that if the situation is prolonged he may have to cancel on his weekend guests as well.
“It has been a tough period for us, ever since the movement control order (MCO) began in March last year to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. I estimate we had no income for nearly a year as from March onwards we had zero guests.
“After the first MCO ended we could open up so we had a few weeks of guests. But when the second MCO began, Pahang remained open but the surrounding states were affected so there were few guests,” he said.
Although business began picking up leading up to Christmas, a two-day water disruption last week also resulted in Hogg having to make several cancellations.
“That one was quickly resolved and we managed to get right on track. Prior to yesterday, we had a decent number of guests at my two establishments, but you cannot really predict mother nature.
“Still we have to be thankful. Even though the local authorities have only a limited number of personnel they have been working around the clock in trying to clear the roads and restore things. I appreciate the hard work they have been putting in,” he said.
