The memorandum, drawn up by the Taman Sri Muda Zone D residents’ association, outlined what they believed were reasons for the problem.

It said the issue could be avoided if the authorities take proper action.

“The flash floods on Nov 8 were due to the negligence of (irrigation and drainage department) officers in failing to open the Taman Sri Muda tidal gate in time,” group chairman Andrew De Silva told reporters.

He said the officers were not monitoring the tidal gate and opening it in time would have helped to prevent the massive flooding.

He said the officers only reached the tidal gate about half an hour later after the heavy rain had started. By that time, several roads in Zone D, next to the tidal gate, were already flooded.

Another resident, Asniyati Ismail, said she called the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) flood hotline to ask them to make sure the gate was open.

“They told me they would get someone to open the gate, but the person arrived too late,” said the 57-year-old housewife, adding that the flood waters went up to about 30cm.

The group also blamed water flow from the Kemuning Utama and Kota Kemuning areas, which were being channelled through the Sri Muda tidal gate, as well as the shallow retention pond there.

It said recent development projects in the area included an additional drain, which brought even more water to the tidal gate.

“All this resulted in an overflow of water to Zone D,” said De Silva, adding that the flooding could have been reduced if the incoming water flow was diverted and the retention pond deepened.

He said residents were stressed each time it rained, bearing in mind the extra costs for them due to damaged infrastructure and household items.

A representative from Amirudin’s office accepted the memorandum.

Taman Sri Muda had been experiencing yearly floods since 2019 and was worst hit by the incident late last year.

FMT has reached out to Amirudin’s office for comment.