LETTER | I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of those who perished in the landslide at Jalan Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong, Penang.

This unfortunate incident should serve as a reminder that we should be extra vigilant when it comes to the safety of workers at the construction site.

Without pointing fingers, I am convinced that we need to step up on our enforcement of work site safety and compliance so that we can prevent such avoidable accidents.

There is no point claiming to know about the problem after disaster has struck – we should have known about it if those who were supposed to monitor the project’s progress and compliance had been serious about their jobs.

If the water flow was blocked, then it should have been discovered during the routine inspections. When was the last inspection carried out?

In Hong Kong, the Geotechnical Engineering Office is set up to monitor developments at hilly terrain. While we also have several departments such as the Geotechnical Department in MBPP, the Mineral and Geoscience Department under the Ministry of Water Land and Natural Resources to oversee matters pertaining to hill slope developments, we severely lack monitoring and enforcement.

Government policies have long been in place but we have been too complacent until lives were lost, not once but twice already. The landslide at the Granito construction site (photo) should have been a wake-up call.

Perhaps the time is ripe for us to create a "Civil and Geotechnical Engineering Commission" that oversees and audits hill slope protection and compliance.

This commission should be led by a building surveyor, and will is empowered to issue stop-work orders and answerable to the Penang State Assembly and Parliament; with the Social Impact Assessment and the Environmental Impact Assessments done in accordance with the recommendations made by the commission.

The commission should be equipped with a Geographical Information System (GIS) and will be responsible for landslide and flood hazard mapping on all hilly land and hill slopes.

With the hazard mapping, our existing warning system can be synchronised as an added preventive measure and surveillance for potential natural disasters.

Lastly, at the next State Assembly, I will urge our government to consider some "ex gratia" payment for the families involved in the tragedy.

The writer is Kebun Bunga assemblyperson.

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