It grieves me that 11 lives were lost in the Tg Bungah landslide. Like many others, I am also asking, why did the local government (MBPP) approve the project?
I have tried to look for as much info as I can, and these are the facts that I have found so far:
1. The land height is within the 76m (250 ft) limit, according to the guidelines.
2. The project follows the Safety Guidelines for Hill Site Development 2012.
3. The project's site is situated on the public housing zone, as per Pelan Dasar dan Perancangan Pemajuan MPPP 1976.
4. During the evaluation process, MBPP has noted the objection against the project from the Department of Environment, which is under the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment.
5. The objection was evaluated along with the technical report from the Department of Minerals and Geoscience, which is also under the Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment.
6. The Department of Minerals and Geoscience, according to its portfolio, supplies "geoscience information and services for the sustainable development of the country," and provides expertise "in the fields of geoscience and mining at national and international levels".
7. Along with the technical report from the Department of Environment and the Department of Minerals and Geoscience, MBPP had also evaluated reports and guidelines from 17 other different departments (MBPP Engineering Department, MBPP Landscape Department, MBPP Building Control Department, Land and Mines Office, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Public Works Department, Fire Department, District Office, etc).
6. All technical reports and guidelines from 19 departments were carefully evaluated. Every department, except for Department of Environment, had no objection.
7. MBPP also took note that the Department of Environment did not object but approved precedent developments in the same area such as TAR College and a housing project.
8. Taking all these into consideration, MBPP approved the Tanjung Bungah project with conditions on 30 June 2015.
Joshua Woo Sze Zeng is a councillor with Majlis Perbandaran Seberang Perai and a DAP Youth leader.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
