State’s policy on development questionable

NOW that a disaster has happened and lives have been lost, a commission of inquiry is to be set up to find out why the landslide occurred in dry weather.

How far will inquiries by the commission go to find the root cause of the disaster?

An announcement has already been made that the contractor concerned will be blacklisted in Penang. This announcement is meant to placate Penangites that “firm” action is being taken.

The chief minister said: “While we do not wish to speculate, strong suspicions remain of professional negligence, defects in monitoring and non-compliance with work safety procedures.”

However, he has ignored the root cause that led to this disaster, that is state government policy on hill-slope development.

What happened to the hill-slope development guidelines that forbid development above a certain height; that forbid development on slopes exceeding a certain gradient?

Besides height and gradient, aren’t there other factors that need to be taken into account?

The important question is: “Why was development approval given in the first place?” The state authority is responsible for this. Will the terms of reference of the committee of inquiry include inquiring into the goings on in the planning department that approved this and other projects?

Ravinder Singh Penang