Penang landslide: Former bar council chairman to head commission of inquiry

The Penang state government on Wednesday appointed former Malaysian Bar Council chairman Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, as chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the Penang landslide that claimed 11 lives in Tanjung Bungah construction site on Saturday.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the State Executive Council approved the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry which will determine the cause of the failure of the temporary slope at the site.

He said an academician from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai, Johor, Prof Dr Ramli Nasir and an engineer Datuk Dr Gue See Saw would be on the commission of inquiry.

"Among the tasks of the commission is to determine the cause of the failure of the temporary slope at the construction site, identify parties responsible for the temporary slope failure as well as to raise and take appropriate action, including legal action on those responsible," he told reporters here, yesterday.

Earlier, Lim said the developer would resolve issues faced by the buyers of the affordable housing project.

Meanwhile, the developer of the project, Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd said the group was currently carrying out a full post mortem together with its team of consultants and appointed Arup Jururunding Sdn Bhd to conduct an independent assessment on the cause of the landslide.

"Our team is conducting comprehensive checks to propose short and long-term security measures to ensure similar incidents do not recur," he said in a statement here Wednesday.

He said the group has always complied with the conditions imposed by the relevant authorities on the development and will continue to abide with the same conditions pending the outcome of the inquiry.

"We hope all parties can make room for the investigation and not speculate about the unfortunate incident pending the outcome of the investigation," he added.

-- BERNAMA