Still no Cabinet report tabled on Batang Kali landslide

KUALA LUMPUR: Eight months after the Batang Kali landslide, there is still no sign of a Cabinet report being tabled with both the federal and state governments giving different versions on the latest development.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the report had yet to be tabled at the Cabinet level as it needed input from the Selangor state government.

This would take time as the new state government had just been formed, he added, in reference to the Aug 12 Selangor state polls.

“We’re still waiting for the state government. It just formed a new government, let’s wait.

“After that, we will bring this matter to the Cabinet.

“It will be done as soon as possible,” Nanta told reporters after launching the Board of Engineers Malaysia Convention 2023 here yesterday.

Nanta also said that he could not reveal more details on the report for now.

“I can’t share anything until I present the report to the Cabinet,” he said.

The tragedy, which struck on Dec 16, 2022, took the lives of 18 adults and 13 children.

A check with the Selangor Mentri Besar’s office yesterday provided a different explanation to the situation.

Datuk Seri Amiruddin Shari’s press secretary Jay Jay Dennis said the report was currently with the Public Works Department and could only be handed over to the state government once it had been tabled in the Cabinet.

“Only after the report is tabled in Cabinet, it’ll be handed to the state executive council,” he said when contacted.

Last week, the families of the landslide victims voiced their frustrations with what they described as a lack of transparency surrounding the investigation process.

In a statement, they sought a prompt report or have someone “more capable” to take charge of the situation.

Just last month, Nanta said the report on the landslide tragedy was ready but had yet to be presented to the Cabinet as it was awaiting feedback from the relevant agencies.

On Jan 5, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad was quoted as saying that a preliminary report of the landslide tragedy had been presented to the Cabinet.

He did not reveal the essence of the report then.