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