Exco gets report on Bukit Kukus landslide that killed 9

The elevated road project in Bukit Kukus, Penang, claimed the lives of nine and had been exempted from an Environment Impact Assessment.

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said an investigation report on the fatal Bukit Kukus landslide in October had been handed over to the state executive council today for deliberation.

He said the report was preliminary in nature and was presented by his deputy, Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who is the lead investigator in the case.

“The executive council will make a decision and will make an announcement to the press,” Chow said at a press conference in Komtar today.

On Oct 19, a landslide on the site of an elevated road project in Bukit Kukus claimed the lives of nine and injured four. All victims were foreign construction workers who were in 12 container cabins on lower slopes.

The Department of Safety and Health estimated 42,000 tonnes of earth had collapsed from a height of 50m in the incident. A check by the department found measures to control soil movements and water seepage had not been up to mark.

Penang Island City Council mayor Yew Tung Seang hinted at negligence after finding a water source at the hilltop had not been properly diverted.

The Penang government then formed a “Bukit Kukus Paired Road Special Investigation Committee”, comprising Public Works Department officials and other external experts.

Zakiyuddin had said the committee’s purpose was to brief the state officials on what had gone wrong in Bukit Kukus but will not prosecute those guilty.

The Penang assembly later heard that the road project had been exempted from an Environment Impact Assessment report, typically required of hill-related projects, as it was a “collector road” and not subject to the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

Such roads provide access to residential properties.

The project, costing RM530 million, involves constructing a 5km bypass road hugging the hills of Bukit Kukus, linking Bandar Baru Air Itam and Relau. The project is being built by the Penang Island City Council with two private developers.

Contractors are now waiting for the green light to continue work on the project. Construction was earlier expected to be completed by 2020. - FMT