Looks like bikers who love corner strafing around the Genting Highland area will be confined to the Karak Highway. This follows the announcement that the Batang Kali - Genting Highland road will be closed to the public for at least a year to facilitate repairs following the deadly landslide last Friday (16 December 2022).

The Public Works Department's Chief Secretary, Datuk Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman urges the public to seek an alternative route during that period.

He also stressed that his department will carry out a detailed study at the site of the landslide and the works carried out on the slope, after the end of search and rescue operations (SAR).

"Although the road is OK, we do not dare to open it until a new slope has been constructed, which takes about a year," he said.

His statement follows the landslide tragedy which wiped out the camping grounds of Father's Organic Farm near Gohtong Jaya. The incident has claimed 24 lives thus far, with 9 victims still unaccounted for.

Datuk Wan Ahmad added that the road did not case the landslide. On the other hand, it was a force of nature with too much underground water movements. "It was also not caused by illegal irrigation by the farm. It was due to water movements that were not visible to the naked eye."

The Department has since identified 1,045 landslide prone slopes along Federal roads in Semenanjung Malaysia. "Developments are forbidden at these areas."

"We already have a guideline which was approved through the National Council Meeting for State Governments. This guideline must be adhered to by respective bodies and we have stated a criteria that development is not allowed at 'red areas'."