‘RELEASE 2017 LANDSLIDE REPORT’
Report on incident that killed 11 people can address weaknesses in local council, says NGO
IN light of Tuesday’s landslide in Batu Ferringhi in which four people were killed, a non-governmental organisation yesterday questioned the delay in releasing the recommendations of a State Commission of Inquiry (SCI) into the Tanjung Bungah landslide in 2017.
The SCI was formed after the landslide killed 11 workers, including a Malaysian, at the construction site of a 50-storey apartment building in Lengkok Lembah Permai.
Citizen Awareness Chant
Group (Chant) adviser Yan Lee said the recommendations had yet to be released two years after the SCI hearings.
He said after the landslide in Jalan Batu Ferringhi, now was the perfect time for the recommendations to be released.
“The recommendations can address weaknesses in the local council and provide measures to prevent landslides.”
The Public Works Department had said the landslide, which occurred on the shoulder of Jalan Batu Ferringhi, was caused by earthworks at a seafront resort.
Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Siang had reportedly said that the incident was not a landslide, but that the retaining wall being built by the resort had collapsed.
He said MBPP was not aware of the construction as the resort had failed to apply for a permit, which means the earthworks that began last week were illegal.
Lee said he had followed the SCI hearings on the incident, during which several parties testified that there were three small landslides before the major incident.
“However, a MBPP officer claimed that he was not aware of the earlier three landslides.
“This shows that there is a weakness in MBPP’s monitoring system.”
Lee said MBPP also appeared to suffer from a shortage of staff in monitoring the development on land and hillslopes.
“Naturally, the city council is supposed to check the entire Penang island, but does it have enough people to do so?
“You know you do not have the manpower, but you keep approving (projects). Why is that?
“Also, what has happened to the camera drones the city council had acquired sometime ago? Why weren’t they used?
“With the latest landslide, people are not feeling safe. Can you help us feel safe?”
State Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo told the New Straits Times that the SCI had a July 31 deadline for submissions on the latest landslide. He hoped that the commission could meet the deadline.
“However, it must be noted that there are many parties involved in the inquiry, which also means that there are many submissions that need to be made.”