MCA veep calls for strengthening of laws after pipeline inferno

Summary

• MCA calls for laws to be strengthened after yesterday's gas pipeline fire in Selangor.

• The party's vice president Wee Jeck Seng says the government must review the management of oil and gas pipelines due to the incident, adding it revealed flaws in the current system.

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MCA called for laws to be strengthened after the eruption of a gas pipeline in Selangor yesterday.

Party vice president Wee Jeck Seng said in a statement today that the government must review the management of oil and gas pipelines as the incident unveils flaws in the current system.

"We cannot treat this explosion as an isolated incident.

"The government must review the entire management system of existing oil and gas pipelines and establish a more rigorous regulatory mechanism to ensure that similar events do not happen again," the Tanjung Piai MP said.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | What we know so far about the Putra Heights inferno

A Petronas gas pipeline in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor, caught fire yesterday morning, creating a massive blaze visible from several kilometres away.

The initial Fire and Rescue Department report stated that the fire was caused by a gas pipeline leak, with an estimated 500m section of the pipeline engulfed in flames.

According to its director-general Noor Hisham Mohammad, at about 6pm yesterday, a total of 237 houses were found to have been affected, of which 78 houses and 10 shops have been burnt.

Of the 305 victims, 125 suffered injuries.

Preventing future mishaps

Commenting further, Wee said oil and gas pipelines should not be located close to densely populated areas, including residential, commercial and industrial zones.

This is to prevent accidents involving the pipeline resulting in large-scale casualties, he explained.

"The government and relevant agencies must implement stricter regulatory measures to ensure that the locations of oil and gas pipelines meet the highest safety standards and undergo regular, thorough safety inspections to eliminate potential risks," he added.

Wee further said the investigations into the incident must determine whether it was caused by accident or poor management practices such as ageing equipment, inadequate maintenance or negligence.

Earlier today, the police said they were probing two construction companies over the disaster following claims on social media that the incident was related to earthworks conducted by a construction firm nearby.

Subang Jaya police chief Wan Azlan Wan Mamat also said 20 agencies will begin investigations and safety inspections at the site.

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