Shuhada Elis & Chan Mei Ling
New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Pahang’s Bukit Tinggi, especially its sleepy town, about an hour’s drive from here, is facing a landslide threat.
The hill has been sitting on a dormant major fault line for quite some time.

Now, the fault line — a fracture in the earth’s crust — has been reactivated due to pressure build-up from surrounding ground movements.

Tremors at Bukit Tinggi were felt intermittently since Nov 30 with the highest magnitude being 3.5 on the Richter scale.

The last tremor at 5.19pm on New Year’s eve was the ninth recorded by the Meteorological Department with a magnitude of 3.0 on the Richter scale.
Compressions had triggered the Bukit Tinggi fault line to release its strain in the form of tremors, said Universiti Malaya’s Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) deputy director Dr Azhar Hussin.

He said the only worry would be an increased potential of landslides if the tremors occurred during the rainy season.

“Frequent tremors would cause instability to the slope — particularly in areas like Bukit Tinggi and Genting-Sempah near Genting Highlands.”

The geologist said it was important to consider the geological area before developing high-rise buildings to avoid disaster.

“Those who bought properties in these areas might not be aware of the consequences. Even though the tremors are small, it is the duty of the authorities to inform and educate the public.”

He added that authorities should not only think about the value of the land but make public safety a priority.

Another geologist, UM associate professor Mustaffa Kamal Shuib, said even the fault line on which Kuala Lumpur sits could be reactivated.

He said there was a fault line running below Kuala Lumpur, which is parallel to and of the same make-up to the one in Bukit Tinggi.

“If the Bukit Tinggi line is reactivated, Kuala Lumpur’s fault line can be reactivated too.”

However he is more optimistic about the outlook, saying that the city centre’s line was not as deep seated as the one in Bukit Tinggi and was made up of brittle fault rocks which carried less severe risks of seismic movements.

“It won’t be severe, even at Bukit Tinggi because Malaysia, on the whole, is on a plate, nowhere near the edge of a fault zone,” said Mustaffa. He was, however, worried about potential landslides.

The Meteorological Department also agreed that the public should not be worried.

“Readings below five on the Richter scale are considered small earthquakes. They can’t damage buildings and people may only feel a minor tremor,” said the department’s Geophysics and Tsunami Unit director Dr Mohd Rosaidi Che Abbas.