The Penang state government plans to form a commission to investigate the cause of a landslide in a housing construction site in Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah that claimed the lives of 11 workers on Saturday morning (21 October).
“Eleven lives were lost, all belonging to one building contracting company. The Penang government will conduct a full and independent inquiry,” said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The fatalities comprise one local construction supervisor and 10 foreign workers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Initially, Guan Eng thinks that there was negligence on the part of the builders, or they failed to abide with existing safety rules and regulations.
“The cause of the tragedy is more likely due to human error than natural phenomenon. Something must be very wrong with the worksite for the slope to collapse. Strong suspicions remain towards professional negligence, defects in monitoring and non-compliance with work safety procedures.”
However, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry revealed on Sunday (22 October) that they had rejected the application for planning approval for the housing project based on the “Guidelines of Siting and Zoning of Industries and Residential Areas”.
This is because the housing development is near a permanent quarry site, where blasting is done twice a month and there is not enough buffer zone separating both areas.
“Once the rocks are blasted loose from the hillside, they are sent to a crushing site within the quarry where the rocks are then crushed to smaller pieces for construction use. The quarrying activities are only 162 metres away from the crushing site and between 400 to 500 metres from the blasting site of the quarry. Therefore, it is not a safe and peaceful environment for people to live in.”
The ministry received the application for planning permission on 9 January 2015. While it was formally disapproved on 23 January 2017, construction work still started during that month.
“Despite the ministry’s objections to the project from the beginning, the developer started construction works without considering the consequences. What is perplexing is that there was no interference from the state government which raises more questions than there are answers,” it stated, adding that they are strongly urging the state authorities to relook its hillside development plans.
In addition, non-government organisations Penang Forum group and Penang Hill Watch said they have reported to the state government recent landslides in Tanjung Bungah prior to the latest one
Penang Forum member Dr Lim Mah Hui noted that the first landslide occurred last January, while the second one happened in May.
“Photographs of construction and hill cutting on this site were presented to the state government to which it responded that the ‘earthworks were under monitoring On the second report, we followed up closely but did not get any response from the state government.”
The latest landslide has also led to calls to the state government to stop or strictly oversee hillside developments, as these harm the environment and raises the risks of more landslides occurring.
According to Guan Eng, the creation of the commission will be discussed and approved at state exco meeting next week. While the investigation is ongoing, construction work at the housing development will cease.
“The commission will conduct a full independent investigation to determine the cause of this work site accident and take action against those responsible. I will also be recommending that the commission be empowered to investigate all ancillary matters related to the project.”
Pending the inquiry’s outcome, the Penang Island Municipal Council (MBPP) will blacklist the contractor carrying out the construction works and the consultants involved.
Based on a notice board, the project’s developer is Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd, while Global Builders Sdn Bhd is the main contractor.
The development was designed by Hock Tan Architect, with Perunding KAA Sdn Bhd and GH Tag Consultancy as the C & S engineer and the M & E Engineer respectively. Chuan Un Chye Sdn Bhd is named as the piling contractor, Kamsen Construction Sdn Bhd the earthwork contractor, Jurukur Mas as the land surveyor, Urban Garden Design as the landscape architect, while Unitech QS consultancy is the quantity surveyor.
Meanwhile, state housing development and town and country planning committee Chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo noted that Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd has already began selling units in the residential project.
“The developer has already obtained the Advertising Permit and Developers Licence (APDL) and I think they have started selling the units to the approved applicants.”
Known as Granito at Permai, the housing development consists of 50-storey building with 16 levels of car park and 34 storeys of apartment totalling 980 units.
The houses, all priced under RM400,000, can only be purchased by qualified applicants screened by the Penang government’s Selection Process Enhancement Committee (SPEC).
To be eligible, the buyers must be a registered voter in the state with a combined household income of below RM12,000 per month, depending on the specific type of unit being applied for.
Image sourced from The Malaysian Insight.
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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