Was anyone listening?

malaysianinsider |
[...] Almost 15 years ago, 48 people, including the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam, died after one of the three Highland Towers condominium blocks located within the same Bukit Antarabangsa area came crashing down as a result of yet another landslide. At the time, then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad put a stop to further hillside development.

Was anyone listening?

One doubts it. Said Benjamin George, an 80-year-old doctor who survived the Highland Towers tragedy: “In three months, the tractors will start work again,” he told the press bitterly. “I have survived long enough to see all this nonsense repeated.”

Predictably, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose private secretary's house was also crushed in Saturday's landslide, echoed much of what his predecessor said 15 years ago. Saying that enough is enough, Abdullah decreed that there would be no more hillside housing projects in the area.

“Malaysians never want to learn from past experience,” said Abdullah, waxing philosophical. “They only want good views and developers only want to profit, but no one takes safety and soil stability into consideration.” [...read more]

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