GEORGE TOWN: Residents of two houses evacuated following the fatal landslide at Taman Seri Rambai in Paya Terubong have been allowed to return home, while four other houses remain off-limits due to safety concerns.
The two houses, numbered 9 and 11, were cleared for reoccupation following a decision by the northeast district disaster management committee.
State local government, town and country planning committee chairman H'ng Mooi Lye said the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) had issued notices under Section 83 of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 declaring four houses, numbered 1, 3, 5 and 7, unsafe for occupation.
"The authorities would await further safety assessments before deciding when residents of the four houses could return," he told reporters in a press conference at the Penang State Legislative Assembly building on Friday (Oct 30).
The evacuation followed Sunday's (Oct 25) landslide, which claimed the life of a 73-year-old retired doctor, Wong Kar Lin.
H'ng said MBPP had also instructed the developer and consultants on Oct 26 to certify the safety of slopes near the affected houses.
He said a meeting involving relevant agencies would be held on Monday (Nov 2) at 2.30pm to review investigation findings, mitigation works and further action.
The meeting, which he would chair, would involve the Occupational Safety and Health Department, Mineral and Geoscience Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, Public Works Department, MBPP, police, Fire and Rescue Department and other agencies.
H'ng said the state government would await the investigation findings of the Occupational Safety and Health Department before considering calls for a State Commission of Inquiry (SCI) into the tragedy.
"We want to know the findings of the he Occupational Safety and Health Department investigation first," he said when asked whether the SCI proposal would be discussed at Monday's meeting.
everal non-governmental organisations, including Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Penang Forum, had called for an independent inquiry into the landslide.
They want the inquiry to examine development approvals, possible negligence, compliance with regulations and measures to prevent similar incidents.
H'ng said the Occupational Safety and Health Department had conducted a site investigation on Thursday (Oct 29) to identify the cause of the slope failure.
H'ng said MBPP had issued a stop-work notice under Section 70A of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 on Oct 25, ordering earthworks at the project site to cease.
The developer and consultants were instructed to implement immediate safety measures within 24 hours, including cordoning off dangerous areas, diverting surface water and covering exposed slopes with geotextile material.
Within seven days, the developer must submit a comprehensive site inspection report, identify high-risk slopes, revise its Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (ESCP) and carry out temporary stabilisation works.
MBPP mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the department would investigate the parties involved and determine whether negligence or failures had occurred.
"If negligence or failures are found, the he Occupational Safety and Health Department will take legal action under the relevant laws," he said.
Responding to claims by environmental groups that repeated cementing works on the slope since 2018 suggested a history of instability, Rajendran said slope stabilisation works had been carried out before construction began as part of the safety requirements under the approved development plans.
"Before they started any work there, they had to carry out slope stabilisation works for safety.
"That was according to the approvals given to the consultants and developer," he said.
Asked whether the slope had been assessed as safe for construction, Rajendran said the approved plans had undergone scrutiny by consultants, an independent checker and the relevant hillside development committee.
He said it was premature to draw conclusions about possible negligence before the Occupational Safety and Health Department completed its investigation.
MBPP engineering department director Cheah Chin Kooi said immediate mitigation measures included covering exposed slopes and constructing temporary drainage channels.
He said rainwater from the upper hillside was being diverted into an existing open drain to prevent it from flowing onto the exposed slope.
