Stick to facts of landslide tragedy, critics told

Penang exco member Jagdeep Singh Deo says while it is fine for NGOs to slam state government, criticism should be based on facts.

Jagdeep-Singh-landslide GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government today urged critics to stick to the facts of the case when slamming the state government over the recent landslide tragedy.

State executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo said among others, the term used by the state government to describe the tragedy as a “worksite accident” was accurate and confirmed by experts in the construction industry.

“We do not deny that there was a landslide on a construction site. Yet, certain parties have tried to overlook or even deny that it was a construction site accident.

“To deny or ignore this as a worksite accident will have legal consequences in terms of financial culpability and responsibility for the 11 construction workers who died,” he said, when reading out a prepared statement in Komtar today.

Jagdeep issued the statement in response to a warning from civil society groups that the Penang government could suffer the same fate as the previous Barisan Nasional state administration if it did not pay attention to the unhappiness of the people over major development projects on the island.

The Penang Forum had also called for all hillslope development in the state to be stopped immediately following Saturday’s deadly landslide in Tanjung Bungah that killed 11 people.

Jagdeep said he hoped the state commission of inquiry (CI) would confirm that the affordable housing scheme project under construction at the time of the landslide, was being built on flat land and not on a hillslope as alleged by critics.

“We hope the CI will also look into other related matters, including the approval of the project by the Penang Island City Council,” he said.