MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek has alleged that some hillside developers have abused their power to get approval from the local authorities to proceed with their projects.

These developers, he said, have 'levelled' the land to apparently make it ‘safe’ for housing development.

“If the hillslope exceeds 35 degrees gradient - which is considered illegal to proceed with the projects - the developers would clear the land and reduce it to 15 degrees.

chua soi lek mca pc 111208 01 “They would chop down the trees and reduce the slopes, so their hillside projects will be approved,” Chua told reporters at the MCA headquarters yesterday.

Chua, who chairs the MCA government policy monitoring bureau, was commenting on last Saturday’s Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy which killed four people and buried 14 bungalows.

The MCA leader also put the blame on project consultants who lack experience, leading the local authorities to hire someone from outside.

“If someone wants to become a consultant, he needs to have a PhD with at least eight years' experience to supervise a project.

“It’s a clear-cut guideline but many local authorities including the one in Ampang Jaya lack such expertise and they are forced to hire people from outside,” he added.

Chua also focused on the question of supervision, asking who is responsible for supervising the project once it has been approved.

“There are many weaknesses in supervision, where it is not as detailed as it is supposed to be... and when the projects are completed, no one supervises maintenance,” he said.

Bring developers to court

Chua lamented that although many landslide tragedies have occurred, not a single developer deemed responsible has been brought to court.

bukit anatarabangsa landslide pdrm aerial photographs 101208 02 “This seems to indicate that all the developers are abiding by the law although action has been taken against several experts who supervised the projects. But when it comes to developers, everything is okay,” he said.

He also disagreed with Information Minister Shabery Cheek’s comments that buyers should share the blame regarding the landslide tragedy too.

“That is not right for him to say. Buyers are not experts - they accept and trust what the developers tell them. If they say it’s safe, we will think it’s safe. How can you blame the buyers?”

The government should also have the political will to resolve hillside development and prevent tragedies, he said.

“Don’t say it’s an act of God all the time. The government should start convincing people that there is political commitment to resolve the matter. Otherwise the same thing will happen again,” he said.

On the same note, he praised the Penang government for acting swiftly in issuing warning notices to developers who have violated the law.