Development of hillside areas: Penang uses its own guidelines

KUALA LUMPUR: The DAP-led Penang government does not apply the Development Planning Guidelines to hillside areas and highlands which is the country's construction reference, said Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar.
Instead, he said Penang had its own guidelines.
"This is under the jurisdiction of the state government, they have a specific reason for not using the guidelines because it is possible that the terrain there is different, but we at the Federal level hope that it will be standardised," he told a press conference at the Dewan Rakyat lobby today.
Meanwhile, Noh said the ministry had sent a letter to the Penang state government asking them to submit a report on the landslide at the affordable housing construction site in Lengkok Lembah Permai, Tanjung Bungah, on Saturday.
He said the state government had to present the report at the National Physical Planning Council meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on Oct 30.

"We have asked them to prepare a report on the incident so we will know in detail about what actually happened," he said.
The bodies of all 11 victims reportedly buried in the landslide have been found and the search and rescue operation was halted at 12.05pm today.
During the incident at 8.57am on Saturday, the 11 victims were working at the bottom of the building being constructed when the hill slope collapsed and buried them. — Bernama