Better safe than sorry

Two buildings housing a bank along Jalan Semantan have been closed by authorities until further notice as a precautionary measure following a landslip at its open air car park last Thursday.

"There are no cracks on the wall. But for safety reasons we have advised them to evacuate until further notice," said City Hall’s director-general Datuk Salleh Yusup. The buildings, Commerce Square and Amanah Raya, were not affected in the incident.

City Hall has contacted relevant parties so that immediate repairs can be conducted.

"This case is being monitored by City Hall’s works department and we have called up the developer, land owner and also referred the matter to Public Works Institute of Malaysia for further action," said Salleh.

City Hall has placed plastic covers on the slope to prevent further soil erosion and has also diverted a monsoon drain so that it does not affect the repair work.

"It’s difficult to measure the safety of the area or to conduct tests at the moment because of the rain," said Federal Territories Deputy Minister Datuk M. Saravanan.

Meanwhile, a CIMB spokesman said business resumed the next day despite the landslip incident. Some 300 staff have been relocated and all operations have been diverted to several back-up sites in the Klang Valley.

CIMB group chief executive Datuk Seri Nazir Razak said there had been no material disruption in any of their operations.

The key bank functions that were housed in the buildings included stock broking, corporate banking, risk management, international banking and transaction services.

On Dec 4, a 20-metre high retaining wall collapsed, damaging 11 cars and caused traffic congestion along Jalan Semantan.