Penduduk Taman Sri Muda menang saman kerajaan berkait banjir 2021

50 residents of Taman Sri Muda triumphed in a lawsuit against the government and related agencies over negligence and breach of duty related to the 2021 flooding that claimed 12 lives. At the High Court in Shah Alam today, Chief Justice Shoba Rajah stated that the plaintiffs successfully proved their claims based on the likelihood against the government and two state agencies.

"The court ruled that the plaintiffs successfully proved the existence of a foreseeable duty of care resulting from the defendant's (government's) operational function and disaster management responsibility," she said. The defense argument of "God's destiny" was not applicable when reasonable human intervention could be made. The breach of foreign immunity was irrelevant under Malaysian law, the court added.

The disaster management agency failed to elevate the disaster response level, maintain the central coordination center, and deploy the Specialized Search and Rescue Unit (SMART) effectively during the flood. "The authorities failed to manage the incident site effectively, resulting in rescue efforts largely being left to NGOs and local residents," Shoba explained.

He also noted the Meteorological Department failed to issue timely warnings at the appropriate severity level, despite forecasts indicating that the threshold had been reached. The court ruled that the Selangor Water Department and Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) were jointly liable with the federal government. The High Court set Oct 6 for hearings to determine the date for compensation assessment.

All 50 residents were represented by lawyers James Joshua Paulraj, Regine Ng, Ahmad Badri Mustaffa, M Gobinath, and P Taneswaran. Federal counsel Al-Saifi Hashim, Nurul Farhana Khalid, and Liew Horng Bin appeared for the federal government, while State Law Advisor Faris Shah Kamarulzaman and Norazalina Hairuddin each represented JPS Selangor and MBSA, respectively.