Tanjung Bungah affordable housing project halted until full investigation complete - Lim

The developer of an affordable housing project at Lengkok Permai, Tanjung Bungah here will not be allowed to continue its work on the project until the Penang State Commission of Inquiry completes its investigation and findings in the landslide tragedy there.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the establishment of the commission into the tragic incident will be worked out and approved at the state executive council meeting next week.

"The commission will conduct a full independent investigation to determine the cause of this work site accident and take action against those responsible.

"I will also be recommending that the commission shall be empowered to investigate all ancillary matters related to the project," he told reporters when met at the scene of the landslide here, today.

The landslide occurred at about 8.50am yesterday. Eleven people were trapped in the rubble and so far seven bodies have been retrieved while the other four victims have yet to be detected.

One of them a site supervisor was a Malaysian while the others were Bangladesh, Indonesian and Myanmar nationals.

Lim said the building contractor undertaking the construction works will also be blacklisted by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) together with any consultants directly involved pending the outcome of the investigation.

He said MBPP had also been instructed to conduct immediate checks and take action on construction sites, especially slope-related, to ensure that guidelines were complied with to ensure not only building safety but also structural stability.

"The state government will be addressing compensation to the families of victims but the main priority now is to find the remaining victims," he added.

"What you see here is a construction accident, so it is a very bad accident as so many live have been lost. The Penang state government wishes to extend deepest condolences to the family of the Penang victim as well as to the governments of Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Myanmar," he said.

When asked whether the landslide was due to a quarry located near the construction site, Lim said he was informed by MBPP Mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif that the quarry had been approved by the previous state government.

"Whether that is the case it for the the commission to decide, were are keeping an open mind," he said.

-- BERNAMA