Kaiju memes flood social media as sinkhole appears in Melaka

MELAKA - A large sinkhole appeared at Jalan Syed Abdul Aziz in Taman Melaka Raya, causing traffic disruption and memes to surface on social media.

Various local WhatsApp groups blamed the sinkhole, which appeared on Oct 2, on the kaiju Godzilla.

Kaiju is a Japanese term for “strange creature”, often referring to giant monsters featured in Japanese films and television programmes, or those in a similar style made elsewhere, according to Oxford English Dictionary.

Kota Laksamana assemblyman Low Chee Leong was among those who received the satirical post in his Whatsapp messages.

“Some turned the sinkhole into a meme (visual joke), but luckily, no untoward incidents were reported,” he said when contacted.

Mr Low said swift action by relevant authorities managed to alleviate the traffic congestion.

He said that some people online also claimed the sinkhole was caused by land subsidence as the affected area was part of the sea reclamation project in the late 1980s.

Melaka’s Public Works Department (JKR) director Mohamad Salzeli Mokhtar said the sinkhole, which measures 3.5m long and 1.7m deep, was caused by a damaged culvert nearby.

“For the short term, we will create a (traffic) contraflow by closing the lanes at the site and opening an adjacent lane for traffic,” he said when met by reporters at the site on Wednesday.

He said that, in the long term, the repair work at the affected site would be carried out as soon as possible.

Two motorcyclists narrowly escaped falling into the sinkhole.

“I was on my way to deliver food to a customer when I spotted the large hole in front of me and quickly swerved to the left. I hit the roadside rail and suffered minor injuries,” said one of the motorcyclists, Mr Izzat Irsyaduddin Daud, 36.

It is understood that the other motorcyclist also sustained minor injuries. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK