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Bar Council seeks royal panel on Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy |
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Tuesday, 17 February 2009 |
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The Star
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar Council has called for the immediate setting up
of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Dec 6 Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy.
The council’s task force, in its report on Bukit Antarabangsa, also strongly
called for the removal of the immunity of local authorities and officers under
Section 95 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act.
The council wanted appropriate action to be taken against the parties
responsible for the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy which claimed four lives and
caused substantial injury and destruction to property.
It said the relevant authorities must also sanction the immediate
discontinuation of all ongoing hillside development projects not meeting the
minimum requirements of safety, or which have not complied with the applicable
laws, regulations and guidelines.
“As a precautionary measure, all hillside development on gradients exceeding 25
degrees should be banned until proper laws are passed,” said the report.
The task force was appointed by the Bar Council in December to find solutions to
prevent or minimise future landslides in or around hillslope developments.
The six-member task force was headed by chairman Roger Tan.
The council also called for the relevant authorities to conduct an immediate
safety review of all existing hillside development at the cost of the
developers.
In a press release, council president Datuk S. Ambiga said it was deeply
concerned with the recent announcement by Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin
Mohamed that there would not be a blanket ban on hillside development.
“It is particularly alarming that this statement has been issued at a time when
the many controversies surrounding hillside development still remain unresolved,
without proper explanation by the authorities,” she said.
“It is also understood that the Federal Government’s Commission Investigation
report into the cause of the landslide at Bukit Antarabangsa which has been
completed, has yet to be made public.”
On the task force’s report, Ambiga said it identified the key likely
contributory causes of landslide tragedies including the lack of competent
expertise in design, construction, site supervision and maintenance and
communication during the construction process.
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