Politicians’ promise of more action comes too late for Bukit Antarabangsa victims - malaysiakini

By Leslie Lau
Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — The federal government has immediately frozen all building permits for hillside development, while the Selangor state government has put all local councils on high alert in the aftermath of this morning's landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa.
The country's attention was once again drawn to the dangers of hillside developments after this morning's incident killed at least four people and caused thousands to be evacuated from the leafy neighbourhood which is within sight of the Petronas Twin Towers.
Bukit Antarabangsa, which has had a history of landslides, is also adjacent to the Highland Towers condominium, where almost 15 years ago one tower collapsed, killing 48 people and prompting national soul-searching over the need for more stringent regulations on hillslope developments.
Then, as is the situation now, government leaders quickly responded with promises to ensure more stringent regulations.
Visiting the site of rescue operations today, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government will no longer allow any development in hilly areas at risk of landslides to avert a recurrence of the mishaps.
As such, he said, developers should not lobby the government for approval for projects in these areas, Bernama reported.
"I believe there is no reason to carry out development on hill slopes at risk of landslides. It is better to take preventive measures to avert possible disasters.
"We have to learn from what has happened today," he said during a visit to look at the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa, Hulu Klang, near here.
Meanwhile, Selangor Local Government Committee chairman Ronnie Liu said all local councils had been put on high alert.
"I have instructed all the local councils to run a check on areas in their districts to ensure they are safe," he said.

He added the state government had also accepted an offer from the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Rehda) to audit potential landslide areas in the state.

But even as political leaders promised more action, the tragic tales emerging from the site of this morning's landslide pose a grim reminder of how previous promises by political leaders have not resulted in better maintenance and monitoring of hilly developments.
One of the more poignant tales which emerged was that of Datuk Shaharuddin Adnan who tried in vain to look for his son who was trapped in the landslide.

He called his son Shaiful Khas's mobile phone and followed the ringing to locate his son.

What Shaharuddin found was his son's hand sticking out from under the rubble, his hand still holding on to the mobile phone. Shaiful was already dead. -- TMI