PAKA VILLAGERS WORRY OVER WORSENING BEACH EROSION

‎DUNGUN, Dec 2 (Bernama) -- Villagers of Kampung Cacar Paka here are concerned that the erosion on the beach will become more serious if action is not taken to save the beach.

Cacar Batu Federal Village Development and Security Committee (JPKKP) chairman Kamarudin Putih said erosion on the beach has been escalating since 2023 when several resorts and village houses suffered severe damage.

"The 10-kilometre beach needs to be saved immediately to prevent further erosion. During the Northeast Monsoon (MTL) from November 2024 to March this year, five houses were destroyed due to erosion and residents had to move to safer places," he said when met by Bernama here today.

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He said his party expected the resorts and hotels still operating along the beach to be threatened as erosion is occurring at a rate of more than five metres per year.

In this regard, Kamarudin said residents hoped that the government could continue the breakwater construction project at the mouth of Sungai Paka which was completed two years ago.

He said the dyke construction project worth more than RM130 million by the federal government was aimed at overcoming the problem of shallow estuaries and coastal erosion. 

"The construction of this new dyke will help reduce the effects of erosion on this beach in the future," he said. 

Meanwhile, a resident, Zahari Jusoh, 36, said he was forced to move in January when his house was badly damaged and was unsafe to occupy due to erosion. 

He said he, his wife and four children are currently forced to rent a house in Taman Uda Paka. 

"Part of the house we have lived in since childhood collapsed and was carried away by current during the big waves in January," he said. 

-- BERNAMA