Bukit Antarabangsa Residents Slam Shabery Cheek's Insensitive Attempt To Spread The Blame
Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek should be more sensitive towards the feelings of the residents who have suffered so much as result of the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide tragedy last Saturday.Residents action committee chairman Datuk N. Muneandy said his statement Tuesday was uncalled for in light of the recent tragedy and only served to add fuel to the frustration and dismay already felt by the victims.
Ahmad Shabery reportedly told residents not to point fingers solely at the Government as both developers and housebuyers who chose to live in highland areas were equally to be blamed and should accept responsibility for what happened.
“Are you saying we should blame the mother for giving birth to the thief?” he told reporters Wednesday, adding that residents had invested millions of ringgit to purchase homes there.
Muneandy said there had been many signals over the years to indicate that the soil structure was unstable but complaints to the local authorities had fallen on deaf ears.
He said the complaints for the past five to 10 years have touched on various issues including cracks in drains and falling rubble and trees at the current landslide site.
“We want the authorities to do something to safeguard the future safety of residents there. The buck must stop here,” he said.
Muneandy said the committee would be bringing in their own geo-technical and legal experts to look into the soil structure at the landslide area which killed four people and resulted in nearly 3,000 being temporarily evacuated from their homes.
“We will collect evidence on what exactly happened and who is responsible. Then, we will consider whether to sue those responsible,” he said.
The committee, which represents the residents of four streets in Taman Wangsa, Wangsa Heights and Antanium, also told the Government to provide more information to the residents’ committee, claiming they were being kept in the dark over plans to alleviate problems caused by the landslide.
“We have not been told about what is happening. We are left wondering what to expect next,” he said.
Read the whole story HERE
***** Did we really expect any thing different from a government minister? If Shabery had his way he'll totally absolve the kerajaan and place the blame solely on the residents and the developers. MBs, Exco members and Majlis officials will be exonerated and described as completely honest and dedicated public servants. Malaysia Boleh!!
Labels: Corrupt Civil Servant, Corrupt Government, Corrupt Politicians, Credibilty Problem, Disasters, Inefficient Government
posted by The Malaysian. at 12/10/2008 02:43:00 PM
8 Comments:
Shabery must have been influenced by Shadowfox post.
At least not so retarded as to say Act of God.
To a large extent, I'm with Shabery here. Home owners cannot absolve themselves of all blame, when they make the decision to purchase such properties. Hillside and foothill properties will always be at risk of landslides, anywhere in the world; whether its an act of God or due to human interferance. Owners should not and cannot claim ignorance of such risks.They should have taken the necessary insurance coverage for such risks, if they insist on buying such properties.
Aside from what the public authorites have or have not done to mitigate such risks, are such properties assessed to include the cost the local authorities have to incur to mitigate those risk? Or are all taxpayers expected to subsidise such cost to enable the well heeled to own such properties?
While this piece is not to defend the local authorities or developers, buyers should not just blame everyone else but themselves when a tragedy strike. Insurance companies do factor in the level of risk in their premium when they accept a policy. Any reason why such property owners should not?
While my views may be seen as "insensitive" and as painful to hear,as that of Shabery's, it is the commonsense truth.
And I am totally against the view that the local authorities should be in any way financially liable for such tragedy.Any reason why uninvolved taxpayers should be made to pay? If any governmental authority is found be be negligent or responsible, they should be disciplined and axed if need be.Uninvolved taxpayers should not be made to foot the bills.
Anon no. 3 is right. There should be no taxpayer subsidy for the property owners' willful foolishness.
Yes, charge & jail the local authorities concerned. Spare the tax payer's monies!
Abdullah Badawi wish to compensate, by all mean, use his own money! Don't act as if the public's money is yours.
just ask ourself of which one that's a priority - our life or our belonging?
for me,i go with my precious live.if i have millions of cash but not get to enjoy it longer than i expected than it's just useless.rather i have an adequate amount of wealth but still i'm in one piece.
how stupid it's for some BA resident of wanting to reside there even the place gonna be declared as not safe anymore.cherish life more than just wanting to be prestige and ellegent.there are so much more place to stay around Klang valley that's far much safer than BA.
When a CF has been issued to a house buyer, he normally assumes that everything including the roads, drainage and physical safety of the home has been checked and approved. When you bought a refrigerator and it fried a fish you put inside it, who would you blame? Surely not yourself!
In Bolehland, consumers are always screwed esp housebuyers. Live on hillsides, be ready to face the risks!!! After 1993 Highlands Tower, you'd think ppl will stay away but memories fade and now it's 'deja vu'.
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