Leading NGOs in Penang today call on the Penang state government to urgently establish a state commission of inquiry into the Paya Terubong landslide tragedy near Taman Seri Rambai on 25 October, which killed a 73-year-old retired doctor.
Such a commission is needed to get to the root of:
- How this tragedy occurred
- What led to it
- Who and what approvals were given by the authorities
- What measures were taken or not taken and by whom
- Whether negligence was involved and who is responsible
- What laws and guidelines were followed or not followed
- How to prevent such tragedies from happening in future
A similar state commission of inquiry was set up when the Granito tragedy happened in Tanjung Bungah on 21 October 2017, claiming the lives of 11 people.
The Granito inquiry led to a set of recommendations made to the Penang authorities in respect of hill-slope development project and their oversight, including legal action to be taken against those directly responsible for the negligent acts and violations.
Following the Granito tragedy lessons, we had expected that there would be no further landslide events. But sadly and regrettably, the Paya Terubong tragedy has happened.
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That is why we need a commission of inquiry that is transparent and open to the public, for us to understand what went wrong and how to prevent it.
Clearly, nine years later, all is not well – and this needs to be fixed.
Do the authorities ever learn their lessons? Or do they continue to pass the buck around as they are doing now?
We are also outraged that the draft 2040 Penang Structure Plan under review has proposals to allow developments on hills and slopes above 76m or 25 degrees, which is a serious departure from the current 2030 structure plan in force.
Our groups have objected to these proposals in our feedback to PlanMalaysia. Hopefully, these concerns will be taken seriously and the Paya Terubong tragedy will serve as a significant lesson not to disturb our environmentally sensitive hills and hill slopes.
It is totally irresponsible and unacceptable for the state authorities to propose loosening restrictions on hill development after the tragic loss of lives from three separate landslide incidents – in Granito, Bukit Kukus and now Paya Terubong.
Clearly, lessons were not learned and those responsible were not punished.
We demand that, this time, those responsible for this preventable tragedy be punished to the full extent of the law.
We also demand that the state cancel its proposal to permit development above 76 metres or a 25-degree gradient.
The following organisations endorse this press release:
- Sahabat Alam Malaysia
- Consumers Association of Penang
- Penang Hills Watch
- Tanjung Bungah Residents Association
- Jaringan Ekologi Dan Iklim
- Penang Heritage Trust
- Penang Forum
- Women’s Centre for Change
- Aliran
- ProtectKarpal coalition
- Agora Society
- Persatuan Kejiranan Gelugor
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