A Kuala Lumpur suburb next to the site of a landslide that killed four last month faces a new disaster unless slopes there are immediately reinforced, the state leader said today.

The landslide in a hilly area of the capital's north-eastern suburbs, which lie in Selangor state, also destroyed 43 homes and left thousands living nearby in fear of their houses collapsing.

Selangor Chief Minister Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said property developers had been instructed to quickly rebuild a retaining wall near the disaster zone in order to protect the safety of residents.

He told the Bernama news agency that the wall would replace one which was constructed poorly and far too late, and as a result collapsed in the disaster which killed two women and two young children in a squatter settlement.

"The housing developers... who have been instructed to expedite work on the wall, claimed that they don't have the funds and are seeking financial assistance from the government," he said, ruling out the request.

Unusually heavy rains

Mohamad Khir said the government is currently studying soil movement in the area before taking legal action against the developers and other parties suspected of involvement in the tragedy.

The landslide was blamed on unusually heavy rains that have hit Malaysia in recent months, but the north-eastern suburbs are prone to slippages.

In 1993 a landslide triggered by heavy rains caused the nearby 12-storey Highland Towers condominium to collapse, killing 48 people - mostly children and maids who were left at home while parents were at work.