Malaysia orders in-depth probe into landslide<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The Malaysian government yesterday ordered
\nan in-depth probe into last week's landslide that killed 21
\nholiday-makers, among them 10 foreigners, at the foot of a
\nhighland casino-resort.<\/p>\n
Works Minister Samy Vellu Sanglimuthu said the Public Works
\nDepartment (PWD) -- which is under the works ministry -- was to
\nundertake the detailed investigation and submit a report within
\ntwo months.<\/p>\n
The government did not propose to appoint an independent body
\nto investigate the incident, Samy Vellu was reported saying by
\nBernama news agency after the cabinet's weekly meeting.<\/p>\n
"However, if the PWD and the investigating team want to enlist
\nthe services of foreign experts to help out, it can be done with
\nthe ministry's permission," Samy Vellu said.<\/p>\n
The minister said he told the cabinet that preliminary
\ninvestigations by PWD soil experts found that the landslide,
\nwhich occurred after hours of torrential rain Friday, was
\ncompletely natural.<\/p>\n
Two Japanese, four Philippine nationals and four Singaporeans
\nwere among 21 confirmed killed after tons of mud, uprooted trees
\nand boulders swept down a hillside onto a 1.3-kilometer (0.8-
\nmile) private sliproad leading to the Genting resort.<\/p>\n
The road was built in 1988 by listed gaming conglomerate
\nGenting Bhd., which owns the country's only casino.<\/p>\n
Officials and environmentalists have blamed excessive hill-
\ncutting and tree felling on Genting Highlands as the cause of the
\nlandslide.<\/p>\n
But Genting chairman Lim Goh Tong, one of Malaysia's more
\ninfluential tycoons with close political links, had insisted that
\nit was an avalanche due to natural causes.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, on his return Tuesday from a
\nthree-week overseas trip, said it could have been an "act of God
\nas accidents happened despite all precautions taken based on
\nscience and technology."<\/p>\n
But he vowed that action would be taken against any party
\nfound responsible for the landslide.<\/p>\n
Government authorities, reeling from Malaysia's second
\nhighland tragedy in 19 months, have ordered mandatory checks on
\nall ageing high-rises, in a similar reaction to the December 1993
\ncollapse of a hilltop condominium that killed 48 people.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysia-orders-in-depth-probe-into-landslide-1447893297",
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