November 30, 2009 20:20 PM

Selangor Exco Members To Assume Responsibility For Landslide Report Declassification

SHAH ALAM, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- Selangor state executive councillors have agreed to assume full responsibility for the proposed declassification of the final report on last year's landslide in Bukit Antarabangsa, Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said Monday.

The state executive council meeting of Nov 18 agreed to the use of the powers of the menteri besar under Section 2C of the Official Secrets Act 1972 to declassify the document because it touched on land issues under the purview of the state government, he said in a statement.

Abdul Khalid said other officers in the state government were not involved in the decision and, as such, they could not be subjected to any legal action.

"So, in this matter, the state government gives the assurance that it will safeguard all its officers from any legal action, if any, associated with this issue," he said.

He also said that the state government was doing everything it could to ensure that federal government bodies gave the go-ahead to make public any report.

Abdul Khalid said state government legal authorities were looking into several provisions to alter the status of the document should the federal government not respond to the application by the state government.

The state government and its agency, the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), had written to the Works Ministry and the Federal Cabinet seeking permission to make public the report but had not received any response so far, he said.

The report prepared by the ministry had been reportedly sent to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council in September and the state government was informed of this only this month, he added.

The landslide, which occurred on Dec 6 last year, killed five people, damaged 14 bungalows and caused damage estimated at millions of ringgit.

-- BERNAMA

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