Drainage reserve - For comments from Datuk Bernard Liew & Datuk Safar Untong
Untuk terjemahan dalam BM sila tatal kebawah:
The area marked in blue is the drainage reserve of 9 feet width all the way down to D18
and all the way up to D17 (not shown on the as-built survey diagram above).
"A drainage reserve is a designated area set aside to manage storm water and prevent flooding, while an as-built survey plan documents the actual conditions of a site after construction or significant changes."
The whole of the drainage reserve behind houses S1 to S18 (now renamed D18 to D17) collapsed following a land slip sometime between 2010 and January 2011.
If part of the land on a cliff with a drainage reserve has collapsed or slipped, it would generally not be appropriate to show the drainage reserve, as it was originally, on an as-built survey plan without noting the change. An as-built survey plan is intended to reflect the actual conditions of the site after construction or significant changes, including any alterations to the landscape or features like a drainage reserve.
Here’s why and what should be considered:
An as-built survey must accurately depict the current state of the land. If the collapse or slippage has altered the boundaries, location, or functionality of the drainage reserve, showing the original reserve without updating or annotating the change would be misleading and potentially hazardous for future planning or construction.
If the collapse has compromised the drainage reserve’s ability to function (e.g., redirecting water flow or causing blockages), this should be documented. The as-built plan should reflect whether the reserve still exists in its intended form or if it has been destroyed, relocated, or modified.
Drainage reserves are often legally designated areas with specific purposes (e.g., managing storm water). If the collapse affects the reserve, local regulations or authorities may require the survey to reflect the new reality, potentially including notes about the collapse or a revised reserve boundary. Failing to update the plan could lead to non-compliance with local planning or environmental laws.
The as-built survey should show the current topography and any changes to the drainage reserve, such as its new boundaries or a note indicating its partial or complete loss due to the collapse.
If the original drainage reserve is still shown for reference, it should be clearly marked with annotations (e.g., “collapsed area” or “former drainage reserve”) to avoid confusion.
In summary, the as-built survey plan should reflect the current state of the land, including any changes to the drainage reserve caused by the collapse. Showing the original reserve without updates or annotations would likely be inaccurate and could have legal or practical implications.
Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Melayu
- Pelan tinjauan as-built mesti menggambarkan keadaan semasa tanah dengan tepat. Jika runtuhan atau gelinciran telah mengubah sempadan, lokasi, atau fungsi saliran simpanan, menunjukkan simpanan asal tanpa kemas kini atau anotasi perubahan akan menjadi mengelirukan dan berpotensi berbahaya untuk perancangan atau pembinaan masa depan.
- Jika runtuhan telah menjejaskan keupayaan saliran simpanan untuk berfungsi (contohnya, mengubah aliran air atau menyebabkan sekatan), ini perlu didokumentasikan. Pelan as-built perlu mencerminkan sama ada simpanan tersebut masih wujud dalam bentuk asalnya atau telah musnah, dipindahkan, atau diubah suai.
- Saliran simpanan selalunya merupakan kawasan yang ditetapkan secara sah dengan tujuan tertentu (contohnya, menguruskan air ribut). Jika runtuhan mempengaruhi simpanan tersebut, peraturan atau pihak berkuasa tempatan mungkin memerlukan tinjauan tersebut mencerminkan realiti baharu, mungkin termasuk nota tentang runtuhan atau sempadan simpanan yang disemak. Kegagalan untuk mengemas kini pelan boleh menyebabkan ketidakpatuhan terhadap undang-undang perancangan atau alam sekitar tempatan.
- Pelan tinjauan as-built perlu menunjukkan topografi semasa dan sebarang perubahan pada saliran simpanan, seperti sempadan baharu atau nota yang menunjukkan kehilangan sebahagian atau keseluruhan simpanan akibat runtuhan.
- Jika saliran simpanan asal masih ditunjukkan untuk rujukan, ia perlu ditandakan dengan jelas dengan anotasi (contohnya, “kawasan runtuh” atau “bekas saliran simpanan”) untuk mengelakkan kekeliruan.
Comments
If a cliff collapse or landslide has physically altered or destroyed a portion of the land containing a drainage reserve, showing the reserve exactly as it was originally designed—without noting the physical change—would make the plan inaccurate and misleading.
Here is why noting the change is necessary:
• Reflecting Reality: The primary purpose of an "as-built" plan is to document reality, not the original intent or pre-existing conditions.
• Liability and Safety: Failing to document a land slip or collapsed drainage infrastructure on an official plan could lead to severe structural, environmental, and legal liabilities.
• Boundary and Feature Adjustments: While the legal easement or reserve boundaries might remain on paper until officially amended by local authorities, the physical top-of-bank, cliff edge, and usable drainage features must be accurately surveyed and annotated to show they have been compromised.
However, even considering Sabah’s special legal framework, the baseline rule still holds true: an as-built survey plan cannot show the drainage reserve as it originally was without noting the cliff collapse. In fact, Sabah’s strict statutory laws make fabricating or ignoring physical on-site realities on an official survey plan an even more serious legal infraction.
Here is the refined legal breakdown of how this operates within the context of Sabah.
1. The Statutory Role of a Licensed Surveyor in Sabah
In Sabah, title and engineering surveys are strictly governed by the Surveyors Ordinance 1960 and the Surveyors (Conduct of Title Surveys) Regulations 1962.
• When a licensed surveyor signs off on a plan in Sabah, they must legally certify that the plan "correctly represents the survey completed" and that they "accept full responsibility for the correctness of the survey".
• Submitting an "as-built" plan to local authorities—such as the Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu (DBKK) or other District Councils—that shows a perfectly intact drainage reserve when the land has actually slid into a ravine constitutes a misrepresentation of reality. Doing so would expose the surveyor to professional misconduct charges and potential civil liabilities.
2. Why Common Law Doesn't Excuse Ignoring the Slip
While common law doctrines sometimes deal with alluvion and dereliction (gradual shifts in land boundaries due to nature), a sudden cliff collapse (avulsion) or landslide does not automatically redraw legal boundaries on paper.
• Under Section 26 of the Sabah Land Ordinance (Cap. 68), the Government explicitly reserves rights over riverbanks, seashores, ridges of hills, and public reserves.
• If a collapse occurs, the legal easement or gazetted drainage reserve technically remains in place as an administrative encumbrance on the title until the Lands and Surveys Department Sabah officially modifies it.
• However, the physical top-of-cliff line and the destroyed infrastructure must be explicitly noted as a topographical feature on the as-built plan. The plan must show that the reserve is no longer physically viable or has been structurally altered by the landslide.
3. Public Safety & The "Certificate of Completion and Compliance" (CCC)
An as-built plan is a vital trigger for local government approvals. If a developer or landowner submits an unannotated as-built plan that conceals a cliff failure:
• It misleads the Principal Submitting Person (PSP) who relies on the survey to issue a Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC).
• Under local municipal building by-laws, hiding a landscape failure that compromises a drainage reserve creates severe liabilities regarding structural stability and public safety.
Summary Verdict
The fact that "Sabah is special" actually reinforces the requirement to be accurate. Because land ownership, state reserves, and native rights are so fiercely protected by statutory ordinances in Sabah, an as-built survey plan must strictly document the ground truth. The plan must map the actual physical state of the collapsed land while overlaying the original gazetted boundary of the drainage reserve, explicitly noting the discrepancy caused by the landslide.