Batang Kali Landslide - Responsibility should lie on the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council, being the Local Government within whose area or jurisdiction the tragedy happened.
Batang Kali Landslide - Responsibility should lie on the Selangor Government and its Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, as this happened in Selangor and it is the Selangor government that appointed the President and Councillors of the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council.
No business activity can operate without the knowledge of Hulu Selangor Municipal Council, and all these business activities need the approval/license/permit of the Local Government (and maybe further approval from State or Federal agencies if the State law or Federal Law requires it).
Did not know of this campsite business activity - well, what has been the enforcement officers been doing? Maybe, we must ask MACC to investigate whether the Local Government enforcement officers or the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council 'did not see' because ... What about the police and other enforcement officers?
What I worry is that at the end of the day, the BLAME may be placed on Father's Organic Farm or its owners - for operating 'illegally'? This is LAME as it reasonably must be a failure of government...which, of course, the Local Government, State Government and even the Federal Government will try to avoid...
Does this mean that there was previously no requirement of permits/licenses for campsite business?"We (the municipal) are in the process of legalising all 25 campsites, following the Local Government Development Ministry directives issued yesterday," he[Hulu Selangor Municipal Council president Mohd Hasry Nor Mohd ] said
Or does this mean, there was a need for license/permits for campsites but the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council failed in its duties, and now is only acting after Federal Local Government Ministry told them to do so..
Did the Federal Local Government Ministry NOT KNOW that Local Councils were not licensing campsite operations? Do they have Local Government laws/enactments that stipulate conditions/requirements for these campsite operations, including maybe environment impact/safety requirements? Do the State have enactments about campsite operations? Do the Federal Government have in place laws that cover campsites? If not, there must be LAWS enacted?
If there are no laws that require campsites to be safe - then, the fault is with the governments? Maybe, we now need clear laws to ensure safety of campsites?
After the Bright Sparklers tragedy - one obvious response was the enactment of the Occupational Safety and Health laws?
So, after this Batang Kali tragedy - LAWS may need to be enacted at the Federal level, State level and also the Local Government level? From the reading of media reports, no one seem to be citing a breach of any Federal/State or Local Government law, and this may be indicative that there really is no laws yet.
Then, the Hulu Selangor 'are in the process of legalising all 25 campsites' - how can they do this if there are no laws. Hence laws need to be enacted first. If not, that 'legalizing' may just mean getting a record of campsites?
The Selangor Menteri Besar and the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council may have to take responsibility for the tragedy and APOLOGIZE to the victims. Their failure maybe the failure to enact needed laws, or if there are already laws, then the failure of enforcement..
Police probe into Batang Kali landslide 90 per cent completed
- Nation
-
Tuesday, 27 Dec 2022
BANGI: Police investigations into the landslide tragedy at the Father's Organic Farm campsite near Batang Kali are now almost 90 per cent completed, said Selangor police chief Datuk Arjunaidi Mohamed.
Arjunaidi said investigations now only involve examination of the crime scene, recordings of conversations between rescue team personnel, and pathology reports from the hospital to find out the cause of death of the victims involved.
"So far, police have taken statements from 77 witnesses, including the injured victims, families, campsite operators and workers as well as the rescue team personnel.
"The investigation paper was opened under Sections 304 (A) and 290 of the Penal Code, and the Local Government Act 1974,” he told reporters after Training Completion and Commissioning Certificates Presentation Ceremony to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Volunteer Police Corps on Tuesday (Dec 27).
Meanwhile, Arjunaidi said the police had traced as many as 20 vehicles buried in the incident and efforts were being done to identify the owners of the vehicles.
"The police will not remove the vehicle because they were buried too deep. So, it is up to the owners to talk to their respective insurance companies about the damage and the claims,” he said.
The early morning incident on Dec 16 claimed the lives of 31 out of the 92 people involved. Sixty-one others escaped unhurt or with minor injuries.
Among the dead, 18 were adults and 13 were children, including a one-year-old baby. - Bernama - Star, 27/12/2022
25 camping grounds in Hulu Selangor operating illegally
BATANG KALI: Twenty-five camping grounds located at risky spots in Hulu Selangor are operating illegally as they do not possess the necessary permits.
Hulu Selangor Municipal Council president Mohd Hasry Nor Mohd revealed that these campsites were located near riverbanks or hillsides, which are known as high risk areas in terms of safety.
However, he said admitted that there are some operators still waiting for their permit approval.
"We (the municipal) are in the process of legalising all 25 campsites, following the Local Government Development Ministry directives issued yesterday," he said
He told this to reporters at a briefing held at the Batang Kali operation centre, near, here, today.
It was reported yesterday that Father's Organic Farm campsite, where a landslide took the lives of 21 campers early Friday morning, had been operating without a licence.
Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said the farm only had permission to operate as an organic farm, which was approved by the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council in 2019.
Following the landslide tragedy, Nga had instructed all 155 local
councils nationwide to check and vacate campsites along and around
high-risk areas, including waterfalls, near riverbanks and hillslopes
for seven days effective immediately. - NST, 17/12/2022
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