GEORGE TOWN: For the first time since the landslide which claimed 11 lives here, the Penang government today said “there was a landslide on a construction site”.
State Housing and Town and Country Planning committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said certain parties had tried to overlook or deny that it was a construction site accident.
“We do not deny that there was a landslide on a construction site,” he said in a statement.
Jagdeep said while the Penang government accepted the right of those who wished to topple the state government by exploiting the incident, they should get their facts right and not distort truth.
Furthermore, he said, it was wrong to say that the project was built on hillslope as the affordable housing scheme was built on a flat land.
“This was even confirmed by the Institute of Engineers Malaysia that the housing scheme is built on a flat land and not on hillslope.
“This construction site accident is an important work safety issue, and to deny or ignore this as a work site accident, will have legal consequences in terms of financial culpability and responsibility for the 11 construction workers who died.
“The Penang government hopes that the Penang State Commission Enquiry can also establish if this housing project was built on a flat land, or hillslope as alleged, as well as any other matters including the approval of the project by the Penang Island City Council,” he added.
A Malaysian and 10 foreign workers were killed in the landslide in Tanjung Bungah on Saturday.