SHAH ALAM: The state administration has nothing to hide about the Putra Heights gas pipeline blast, says Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said that a comprehensive investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the tragedy, and added that the responsible party will be held accountable if any wrongdoing is found.
Addressing allegations regarding an excavator buried at ground zero, Amirudin said his initial statement that there was no heavy equipment at the location had been taken out of context to make him look bad.
"The statement was misunderstood by certain quarters. From my brief discussion with the state police chief (Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan), we had suspicions that there was an excavator buried there,” he said.
Amirudin added that this is why he asked the public to share any information or videos they had, in addition to saying that the relevant authorities would investigate and find where the excavator was.
"There was no issue of me trying to deny the presence of activity there or to protect anyone as alleged by some on social media," said Amirudin.
Amirudin also said when he made the first statement, he did not want to conclude that an excavator was buried there, as the onus to do so was on the Selangor police chief, who is the chief investigator.
Amirudin then added that the investigating team would be impartial and carry out its job without fear or favour.
"My instructions are clear; the investigating team must conduct a comprehensive probe," he said.
On Friday, Comm Hussein revealed that following an early police probe, an excavator was believed to be buried in the crater caused by the gas pipeline explosion in the area.
He said heavy excavation work was carried out by a contractor just 30m from the location of the April 1 incident.
On another matter, Amirudin urged victims of the disaster to register with the Welfare Department at the temporary relief centres (PPS) by Sunday afternoon.
"The registration will be closed Sunday afternoon to facilitate the streamlining of information and data by the Fire and Rescue Department, Welfare Department, as well as the land and district offices," he said.
He pointed out that a slight problem had cropped up as some of the houses that had been rented out had multiple tenants.
"Now, we have a third category (rented premises) in addition to the 'total loss' and 'affected' categories of houses identified," said Amirudin.
Homeowners of the total loss category will receive RM5,000 each, while those in the affected and rental categories will receive RM2,500 each.
The Mentri Besar said the funds are expected to be disbursed on Monday and completed within the week.
According to him, 130 residents have been allowed to return to the 235 houses identified as being safe.
Most of the houses deemed safe are in Taman Putra Harmoni, as opposed to Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru, as the latter is still considered unsafe based on reports by the Fire and Rescue Department and Tenaga Nasional Bhd.
"I would like to remind those not permitted to return to their houses not to go back as there isn’t a guarantee for their safety.
"Security at these locations will be tightened, and those wanting to return to retrieve important documents can only do so if accompanied by officers of the relevant authorities," said Amirudin.
He then said that a resident had returned to his home at Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru on his own, only to be treated at the PPS for discomfort later.
It was then discovered that the man’s house was located in the still-prohibited area.
