Selangor halts all development in Puncak Alam after floods

The Selangor government has ordered all development works in Puncak Alam, Kuala Selangor, to stop with immediate effect after flash floods hit the township on 5 November 2026. The state executive council decided on 6 November that work stays stopped until the area's flood mitigation plans and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) are reassessed, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said in a statement that evening.

The statement gives no end date, names no projects and does not say whether sites already under construction are covered.

What the state decided

• The halt: all development works in Puncak Alam stop at once, until flood plans and the EIA are reassessed
• Approvals under review: earlier that day, after inspecting a retention pond site at the UiTM Puncak Alam campus, Amirudin said he would ask for a review of all approvals the state has granted, "including imposing a requirement for developers to construct temporary water retention facilities". The review covers all approved projects across Selangor, not only Puncak Alam, with high-risk areas first
• Faster flood works: flood mitigation works of all sizes, especially in high-risk areas, must be sped up "rather than following conventional schedules", as rain is expected almost daily. Selangor has 105 long-term flood mitigation projects worth RM4.28 billion under way, and 255 smaller ones worth nearly RM70 million at flash-flood hotspots, about 70% complete
• Flood causes found: in Johan Setia, Parit Mahang, Bukit Kuching and Bukit Hijau, the state blamed vandalism that lowered the embankments of the Sungai Buloh 1 Flood Mitigation Scheme below their design, and water overflowing from the West Coast Expressway (WCE). A local mosque that often floods from Sungai Subang may be raised or moved
• Floodplain land: two sites have been picked to be gazetted as water catchment or floodplain areas, and some illegal structures will be demolished to make way, the district land office and local councils carrying it out
• Other steps: Jalan Batu Arang in Rawang is closed for slope repairs, flood victims at relief centres get up to RM1,500 each from Nadma and the state, and the Drainage and Irrigation Department is to speed up drain repairs

The floods

• 5 November: nearly three hours of heavy rain flooded parts of the UiTM Puncak Alam campus. The university said a concrete drain beam gave way, while all 16 of its retention ponds worked. Alam Suria, Saujana Utama and Sungai Buloh were also hit
• Evacuees: by 11.30pm, 1,120 people from 284 families were in nine relief centres in Shah Alam, Klang and Kuala Selangor
• The cause: Amirudin blamed unusually heavy rainfall, above normal levels
• The forest question: Puncak Alam residents' associations say land clearing at the edge of the Bukit Cherakah Forest Reserve is behind this year's floods, and that part of the reserve lost its status under a 2000 state decision gazetted in 2022. State environment executive councillor Jamaliah Jamaluddin said on 8 November she had received no reports of clearing, and that the reserve still covers 1,298.86 hectares plus a 982.80-hectare extension. The state will check with the Selangor Forestry Department

Puncak Alam and its industrial land

• The township: Bandar Puncak Alam covers more than 6,000 hectares, with about 250,000 residents and at least six major property developments, the New Straits Times reported on 7 November. Jeram assemblyman Harrison Hassan said infrastructure had not kept pace with development
• Eco Business Park V: Google's Pearl Computing Malaysia Sdn Bhd bought 58.187 acres there from EcoWorld for RM266.1 million, and EcoWorld is building data centres on another 92.44 acres to lease to Pearl. Gamuda's RM2.14 billion building contract is due for completion in the third quarter of 2027 (our report)
• No word yet: by 10 November, neither EcoWorld nor Gamuda had told Bursa Malaysia whether the halt affects the site

In Puncak Alam, work stops until the reassessment is done. Elsewhere in Selangor, projects that already have approval may have to add temporary retention ponds, which can add cost and time.