Those affected by the recent flash flood in KL can sue the local authorities for damages, a lawyer said in a Bernama report. However, they would have to provide evidence supported by relevant experts to show negligence by the local authority concerned, Syahredzan Johan said.
“For instance, in this case, the victims can get advice from experts in engineering to testify on their behalf in court. The testimony will be based on evidence, such as the witness testimony, newspaper clippings, pictures of the incident and receipts for payments made in the case,” Syahredzan told the national news agency, adding that victims seldom pursue the matter due to the high cost in getting professional advice.
It won’t be a walk in the park. Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mhd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said KL City Hall (DBKL) is prepared if sued by flash flood victims. “We have our own lawyers to resolve the matter,” he told Bernama. Last week, the mayor ruled out DBKL paying damages.
DBKL is currently conducting inspection and cleaning of the city’s drainage system, including areas affected by the recent flash flood. On May 12, heavy rain caused flood that submerged several roads, including Jalan Pantai Baru and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim. More than 100 vehicles had to be abandoned by their owners.
Last week, the Federal Territories Ministry said it was seeking funds of at least RM40 million to build two retention ponds in Pantai Dalam and Jalan Duta to fix the flood problem in the capital. FT minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said DBKL has already identified the causes of the flash floods and would present its findings to the Cabinet soon. Full story here.
Meanwhile, Perodua and Honda Malaysia have reached out to customers with flood damaged cars, offering discounts on parts and free towing in P2’s case.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
Victims can group together and file a Class Action Suit against DBKL. This should bring down your legal cost. Its about time since DBKL could not care less about the repercussion of the floods on the drivers.
The bigger question is will they get a fair trial? Or can it even proceed to a trial without the case being thrown out? As we all know, Malaysian justice system are not exactly independent of political influences.
Again we witness the case:
Billions ringgit spent on projects here and there, but if your car still submerge in the flood, it is your own problem.
You can sue city councils just like you can sue Sam Loo for trolling.
Good job lawyer… don’t let the BN cronies/ministry walk out from this mess. BN ministry never take responsibility own their own mistake.
Of coz lawyer will said that…. whether win or lose the lawyer will get their money… i doubt they will want to do it “pro-bono” lol…. same case the the one suing MAS over MH370 incident…. case will get dragged over few years….lawyers keep collecting their fees…in the end the loser are the client themselves lol…
Better then any “self-praise” BN minister…
Of course they can and they should.
I agree with @Angry.
Flood victims should group together and Sue the city hall for negligence duty of care.
Your FT ruler “Jabba the Hut” will overrules any “tupai pandai melompat” court decision. Gud luck my friends!
As a city council, they are answerable to the rakyat, and the findings of the drainage inspection must be made public. I believe a successful lawsuit to the dbkl will make them deliver their jobs seriously.
DBKL can shift the blame to God – act of nature . Case closed
Sometimes, flood can be caused by the citizens themselves. We simply throw our garbage and wastes into drains, rivers etc. Creating a massive blockage of the drainage system. We really need to educate our citizens to care for our cities and country like caring for our homes, cuz it’s the only home we got!
Dbkl should do the cleaning also, I bet the mud and sand stuck at the drain are the culprits
Imho, it’s DBKLs fault. It’s their job to do the cleaning and maintenance stuff. If flood is the act of nature, it could be avoided if DBKL is doing proper maintenance job. In the news they said garbage, waste and illegal piping connection causing the floods. So they blame people? They shouldn’t because it clearly shows DBKL didn’t do their jobs properly and thus doing maintenance after the flood damages civilians properties was to avoid getting a pay check to bear the repair costs of damaged vehicles.
we also scared the lawyer involved might get killed in a sudden mysterious flood…
Or the laywer might go to the prison for a mysterious crime only to be let go after they lose the case…
everyone can sue the government but the question is can win or not?
it’s about time govt to urge automakers to develop and install flood-proof vehicles specially for malaysian market, e.g. ability to auto float the car when the need detected.
At the end the lawyer himself sure win.