Human activities blamed for Hulu Langat landslide that killed 16

SHAH ALAM: The cause of the May 21 landslide in Hulu Langat which claimed the lives of 16 people, many of them children, has been attributed to human activities, the Selangor State Assembly sitting was told Monday.

Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Committee chairman Elizabeth Wong (PKR-Bukit Lanjan) said these included cutting the slope too steep and nothing done to strengthen the slope.

"Furthermore, there was an absence of a buffer zone and maintenance zone," she said when replying to a question from Dr Shafie Abu Bakar (PAS-Bangi).

Although landslides were a natural occurrence, human interference caused them to happen frequently, she said.

Dr Shafie had wanted an explanation on the cause of the May 21 landslide which claimed the lives of the 16 people, many of them child residents of the Madrasah Al-Hidayah at-Taqwa. Wong said the state government had taken several measures to check landslides in the state, including raising awareness in the people who lived near hill slopes on their responsibility in monitoring these areas.

She said a unit had been established in the engineering department of the Kajang Municipal Council to monitor development on hill slopes and high ground in Hulu Langat.

"An action unit has also been set up to undertake an inventory of highland development in Hulu Langat," she said.

The house will sit again Tuesday. - Bernama