Review of the National Slope Master Plan 2026

The National Slope Master Plan Study, carried out between 2006 to 2008, was one of great significance in that it was the first guiding document that provided direction in managing the nation’s numerous slopes and addressing one of the major geohazard disasters afflicting communities throughout the country.

The spectre of landslides is not new in Malaysia. Since the first recorded landslide in Ringlet, Cameron Highlands in 1961 which claimed six lives, the history of Malaysia has been riddled with catastrophic events, including a typhoon-induced mudslide which killed 300 people in 1996 and more recently, an earthquake-triggered rockfall in Kundasang, Sabah which shook the world with vivid images of tourists and local communities who fell victim to the tragedy.

When the landslide disasters reached a scale that encompassed heavy economic losses and productivity as well as lives, the Government had to take action. After the Bukit Lanjan rockfall in 2003, which virtually brought a transportation artery in the Klang Valley conurbation to a grinding halt, the Cabinet issued a directive to the Public Works Department (JKR) to set up a new branch dedicated to slope management and control. Hence, the Slope Engineering Branch or Cawangan Kejuruteraan Cerun was formed in 2004.