Groups call for RCI to investigate tragedy

Necessary measure: The Fire and Rescue Department says it has cordoned off certain slopes at the site after the landslide as the soil may be unstable.

GEORGE TOWN: A Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) should be formed to determine the cause of the landslide and those responsible, said Tanjung Bungah Residents Association chairman Meenakshi Raman.

“Whenever there is such a tragedy, an inquiry needs to be carried out to find who is accountable. In this case, the state government needs to take responsibility for what has happened,” she said at the scene.

Meenakshi said the association has been calling for a halt to all hill land developments that cause landslides, landslips or flooding.

“Whenever we raise the issue, the state government calls us irrational, but now we have been proven right,” she said.

Meenakshi, who is also the Con­sumers Association of Penang’s legal adviser, said the state government had been approving hillside projects and this must stop.

“This incident should not be taken lightly just because those who perished are mostly foreign workers.

“This should not be considered a one-off incident but a wake-up call on the dangers of hill clearing,” she said.

On Oct 15, Meenakshi led a group of 24 residents’ associations and management corporations to make a concerted call to the state government to take the floods and hill erosion issues seriously.

They also announced a briefing on Oct 29, titled “Penang Flood: Call for Action”, for state-elected representatives and the public.

Malaysian United Party, a new political party launched in July, also called for an RCI into the landslide.

Its secretary-general Kee Lean Ee said it was deeply saddened by the incident and the lives lost.

“We hope the authorities will investigate and take action against those responsible," Kee said.