KUALA LUMPUR, 9 Dec 2008: Residents in Bukit Antarabangsa affected by 6 Dec’s landslide in the area plan to sue the authorities concerned and claim compensation.
Chairperson of the Bukit Antarabangsa Action Committee, Datuk N Muneandy, said the committee would get legal advice on the matter as they were confident of having strong evidence to pursue their claims.
“We have the evidence like photographs taken before the landslide and complaints lodged with the local authority,” he told reporters.
Without stating the amount of compensation to be claimed, he said some residents had notified the relevant local authority about the possibility of landslides happening.
“They had reported about fallen trees which indicated that something undesirable could happen, but the local authority only sent people to cut the trees and there were no other preventive measures taken,” he added.
Muneandy also urged the government to immediately form a special committee with representatives of the residents included so that they could be kept informed of any development in Bukit Antarabangsa.
“This is important as the problem involves the safety of our lives and homes, and therefore we want the government to act fast,” he said.
Earlier, representatives of the Bukit Antarabangsa residents held a discussion with the landslide search and rescue operations chief, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, to get details of the operations.
During the discussion, Khalid promised to intensity security surveillance in the landslide area to prevent looting and urged residents with problems to personally come forward to lodge police reports.
“We did get requests from residents who wanted to come in to get their belongings, including their cars stuck among the rubble, but we cannot allow them to do it now as the ground is still unstable and could endanger their lives,” he said. — Bernama
