UNIMAP To Help Indonesia Tackle Mudflow Problem

KANGAR (Perlis, Malaysia), May 10 (Bernama) -- University of Malaysia, Perlis (UniMAP) will help Indonesia tackle the mudflow problem that baffled residents of Sidoarjo, Surabaya since 2006. A research team from the Geopolymer and Green Technology Centre of Excellence led by Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri is in Indonesia to utilise the dried mud as building material. Mohd Mustafa said UniMAP is colaborating with Petra Christian University (PCU) since September last year to tackle the mudflow problem in Sidoarjo, Surabaya. UniMAP has the expertise in geopolymer technology development as Vice-Chancellor, Prof Dr Kamarudin Hussin was among the researchers who came up with the idea to collaborate on geopolymer research based on mud. "Local authorities in Surabaya are channelling the mud to a nearby river and then straight into the sea, thus causing serious pollution," he said when contacted on Wednesday. Mohd Mustafa said UniMAP is developing the mud-based building products with collaboration of PCU's Department of Civil Engineering. "Both sides are in the process of patenting the research products before presenting it to authorities in Indonesia," he added. The dried mud can be made into concrete bricks and light building materials with properties similar to common building materials. The mudflow was traced to gas drilling while some people blamed it on the strong earthquake of 6.3 magnitude that rocked Yogyakarta on May 27, 2006. Some 30,000 people had fled the mudflow which spread over 770 hectares with 20 metre deep, sinking at least 16 villages. --BERNAMA