The federal government will table an amendment to the Street Building Drainage Act 1974 to include provisions on slope monitoring and enforcement.

Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said the new provisions would empower local governments nationwide to conduct safety inspections on all slopes within their jurisdiction, including private land.

Speaking to reporters in Putrajaya today, Wan Azizah said once the amendment is passed in Parliament, existing buildings at hill slopes would be monitored and the government will take all necessary precautionary measures to prevent tragic outcomes that would arise in the event of a landslide.

The actions include ordering evacuations if inspections discover that it is unsafe for occupants to remain in those buildings.

"At the top of the list in our meeting today was law provisions concerning hillslopes, which we do not have for the time being.

"When tragedies occurred, for example the landslide which killed many students of a tahfiz school in Hulu Langat, the government suggested having a law that governs development near hillslopes, where geoscience factors are taken into consideration.

"These will be included in the act," she told a press conference after chairing the National Council on Local Governments 72nd Meeting in Perdana Putra.

She added that the amendment plan was initiated under the previous federal administration following the 2011 tragedy, and it took a long time because of finetuning process between the Attorney-General's Chambers and the Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Wan Azizah said the provisions would also make it compulsory for developers to abide by a certain standard when it comes to construction at hillslopes.

She said the local authorities would have the power to reject the development application if the standards are not met.

Wan Azizah added that the government aims to get the amendment passed by this year and begin enforcing it next year.

Also present at the press conference was Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

When asked about the Highland Towers site in Ulu Klang, Zuraida said that there were administrative works that needed to be settled, such as claims by owners of the 150 units, before the blocks are demolished and a public park is developed at the site.

It was previously reported that a special committee would be formed to study plans of redeveloping the site which has been abandoned since 1993, when one of the three condominium blocks collapsed, killing 48 people.