Batang Kali landslide: a flawed system of ‘tidakapathy’

 

From Kua Kia Soong

In the wake of the catastrophic Batang Kali landslide, an avoidable disaster that claimed the lives of 31 innocent individuals, we are compelled to address the glaring deficiencies in our system of governance and oversight.

Following the horrifying Highland Towers Condominium collapse in 1993, a tragedy that cost 48 lives, one would have expected the federal government to fortify our municipal councils against the perils of slope failures.

Regrettably, history seems to have repeated itself, as the Batang Kali tragedy unfolded in 2022, highlighting the impotence of the National Slope Master Plan (2009-2023).

It is regrettable that the official report on the Batang Kali disaster is laden with technical details about geological aspects and rainfall measurements, a wealth of information which, sadly, only became available after the tragedy.

Its conclusion, stating that the incident was primarily due to excessive rainfall and geological instability, merely echoes the obvious. We have been reassured that maintenance work adhered to the schedule, but we cannot allow such tragedies to be explained away as mere acts of fate.

In response to this event, the prime minister failed to establish an investigative committee, opting instead for a “technical team” to compile the report, a decision that serves to obfuscate rather than elucidate the root causes.

It is crucial to underscore that in the aftermath of the 2021 flood disaster, then opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim called for an immediate royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the tragedy.

To uncover the true reasons behind the Batang Kali landslide and forestall future disasters, nothing short of an RCI will suffice, and the resultant recommendations must be made publicly available and stringently implemented.

Lamentably, instead of addressing the core issues, the local government development minister focused on the unlicensed campsites as the main culprits, a classic case of misdirected attention that plagues Malaysian politics.

The pertinent question is not about campsite licensing but rather how local and state authorities permitted the excavation of such treacherous hillslopes in the first place, and whether proper geological testing, piling and slope reinforcement were carried out during the road’s construction.

Moreover, an investigation is imperative to determine the quality and regularity of hillslope maintenance by local authorities, a matter of life and death in locations like the Batang Kali campsite.

The revelation that over a thousand slopes across the nation have been labelled as “hotspots” should serve as a stark reminder of the pending disasters awaiting swift action and attention. What measures have been taken to warn, inform, protect and evacuate those residing near these potential calamities?

The Batang Kali tragedy is reminiscent of the Tanjung Bungah landslide of 2017, the 1996 landslide at Pos Dipang that claimed 15 Orang Asli lives, and countless other disasters. Civil society has long cautioned against the haphazard “development” of hillslopes and environmentally sensitive areas, only to be met with deaf ears from the authorities. Some have even been labelled “irrational” for opposing such ventures.

It is a disheartening reality that in numerous cases, corners have been cut, departments have been negligent, and corruption has cast a dark shadow. Recent corruption scandals have exposed politicians who have cosied up to influential developers.

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) have been compromised, or developers and authorities have exploited legal loopholes by dividing projects into smaller parcels to bypass EIA requirements. Stricter EIA regulations are imperative to counteract the cunning tactics of developers and politicians who have taken advantage of these weaknesses for far too long.

In the wake of the Batang Kali tragedy, we must hold those responsible for negligence and corruption accountable. It is unclear how the Botanical Garden Resort’s 2016 application for land use was initially rejected, only to be approved by the Hulu Selangor District Council in 2019.

More importantly, we must thoroughly overhaul the entire system governing hillslope development. Stringent EIA conditions, regular maintenance, and transparent engagement with all citizen stakeholders must be established. Professionalism in engineering projects with a steadfast commitment to stability and user safety must be paramount. Only by addressing these deeply ingrained systemic issues can we hope to prevent such heart-wrenching tragedies from recurring. - FMT

Kua Kia Soong is a former MP for Petaling Jaya.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.