by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Penang on Saturday, 4th June 1994:
I will seek a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, on the Higland Towers Collapse Disaster and the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council inquiry report
I welcome the statement by Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, that action will be taken against all parties responsible for the Highland Towers Collapse Disaster on December 11 last year which killed 48 people, including those who approved the construction of the condominiums.
This assurance is most, important as the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council inquiry only blamed the developer for the collapse of Highland Towers, attributing the cause to the weak foundation.
However, what does Anwar Ibrahim mean when he said that “all other parties implicated would not get off scot-free”?
Does this include the Gombak District Council – which approved the construction of Highland Towers and issued certificate of fitness of occupation – and its successors-in-title, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, being prepared also to accept co-responsibility for the collapse of the condominium?
The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council inquiry report has still to be made public, but I am sure Anwar will agree that the inquiry findings would be incomplete and unsatisfactory if it had omitted to deal with the following matters:
* the cause-and-effect relationship of the landslides from the hillslope and the impact of 400,000 metric tonnes of earth and other debris which hit Block A of Highland Towers ten minutes before the building collapsed;
* The degree of liability of Gombak District Council in issuing the certificate of fitness despite the finding of the inquiry that the cause of the collapse of Highland Towers was its weak foundation. Why did the Council give approval for the condominiums if the developer had failed to comply with certain building regulations and conditions?
* The question of compensation to the victims or their families.
Anwar Ibrahim should make public the full reports of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council Inquiry into the Highland Towers Collapse Disaster without any further delay.
The reports should also be made available to Members of Parliament. I will seek a meeting with Anwar Ibrahim on the Highland Towers Collapse Disaster and the inquiry report.