DEVELOPMENT projects on hill slopes always draw the ire of residents living in the surrounding area. With the numerous stories of landslides and the lack of access to a developer’s development plans, it is understandable that the public has little tolerance for such development projects. In far too many cases, hill slope development has resulted [...]

“We hope the Bukit Antarabangsa residents will know the truth now that the full report has been released.” Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim announcing that the Public Works Department (JKR)’s investigation report on the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide would be declassified by the Selangor government. The report was released to the Ampang Jaya Municipal [...]

PART of my work as a Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillor involves mediating disputes between resident groups and various parties. From experience, things are not always what they appear to be. There are no morals to these stories, save those that readers interpret for themselves. (Lamp by Dan Edwards; yin-yang by hisks / sxc.hu) [...]

THE following are my observations on local council matters. The views are entirely my own. They may not reflect the actual policy that a local council would adopt, as policies are determined collectively and not by any one individual. Due process On 9 Oct 2009, The Star reported on a minor landslip in Puchong, supposedly [...]

Damage caused by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide of 6 Dec 2008 (Pic courtesy of Raj Kumar) BARELY two months have passed, yet the lesson of the Bukit Antarabangsa hillside disaster is nearly forgotten. Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohamed has declared that projects on hillsides can proceed, with only a ban on the “tip [...]

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 Feb 2009: Bar Council president Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan today called for the setting up of a Royal Commision of Inquiry to investigate the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy. She said the Bar Council’s Task Force on Bukit Antarabangsa had identified the causes of the landslide tragedy, including the lack of competent expertise in design, [...]