DOSH and construction board to probe cause of landslide

GEORGE TOWN: The Construction Industry Development Board and Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) have been directed to investigate the cause of the landslide at the housing project in Tanjung Bungah.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the state Public Works Department (PWD) had also been ordered to aid the ongoing search and rescue operation with whatever equipment available.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who visited the site, said a state-level investigation committee would be set up to look into the accident.

“We view the loss of lives very seriously and only a thorough state-­level inquiry can determine the cause of the accident,” he said.

Penang DOSH director Rosdee Yaakob said the landslide was a construction accident.

“My officers are on the ground and formal investigations will start when all the bodies have been recovered and the site closed,” he said.

National Institute for Occupa­tional Safety and Health (Niosh) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the incident was an example of how safety measures were being disregarded at construction sites.

He said if a hazard such as soil erosion had been identified, there should have been an assessment to check if the risk needed to be addressed immediately.

He added that those involved in the construction industry could not take safety for granted.

“They need to properly audit their work sites to determine unsafe areas,” he said.

Expressing sadness over the tragedy, Lee said Malaysia was far from achieving a good safety culture.

The site of the landslide is an affordable condominium project, consisting of two 49-storey (50 levels) towers with 980 units in total, and located within the Permai Village township near the Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.