Zairil, who is MP for the area, said the emotion and anger over the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 11 workers including the Malaysian site supervisor, was understandable.
However, he slammed those who made “irresponsible accusations” against the Penang government, which he said were based on “deliberate misinformation and a politically motivated statement by the natural resources and environment ministry questioning the approval process of the development”.
In a statement, the Penang DAP vice-chairman said the state government had always followed correct procedures when reviewing planning applications for development projects.
According to him, the proposal for the Tanjung Bungah development project was first submitted to the city council in November 2014. After a thorough review process, he said, a commencement of work order was issued in January 2016.
Zairil said the council had approved the project after taking into account the views of 17 different technical departments, most of which were federal government agencies.
These included the Department of Minerals and Geoscience, the primary agency responsible for mining activities, including quarrying, and slope safety, that came under the purview of the natural resources and environment ministry itself.
The Department of Environment (DoE) was the only one out of 17 departments that did not agree to the development.
According to Zairil, in the DoE’s official reply, it said its objection was based on the site’s proximity to a nearby granite quarry. The reply however made no mention whatsoever of hill slopes.
He said the city council had taken note of the DoE’s objection, but had based its approval on precedence, as the development, at 715 metres away from the blasting site, was not the closest development to the quarry.
In fact, he said, the Tunku Abdul Rahman College situated right next to the development, was closer to the blasting site at 589 metres.
Although both were over the 500-metre guideline set by the DoE, Zairil pointed out that the development of the college was approved by both the previous state government and the DoE.
“Clearly, the DoE is inconsistent and practising double standards,” he added.
To claims that the Penang government approved hill slope developments indiscriminately, he said this was “far from the truth”.
“In the case of the development in question, the area has been zoned as residential since 1972, while the quarry has been in operation since the 1960s.
“As the same conditions had existed for decades, there was no justification to accuse the state of arbitrary decision-making.”
Zairil added that the project involved slopes with a gradient of about 20 degrees, which made it a Category 2 slope (15 to 25 degrees) according to national guidelines.
The land contour of the project area, meanwhile, varied between 18 metres and 40 metres, which he said was well within acceptable limits.
“According to the same national guidelines, a Category 2 slope at a 40-metre maximum contour means that the land is technically classified as low land (tanah rendah) and not hill land (tanah bukit).
“All accusations to the contrary are therefore misleading.”
Zairil said Penang had stricter hill slope development guidelines than the rest of the country, adding that the state government did not allow any developments on hill land above 76 metres.
This is in contrast to the national guidelines which set 300 metres as the limit.
On the state government’s response to the tragedy, Zairil said its leaders had been on site within an hour to assist in securing the area and to help coordinate search and rescue operations.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng himself had visited the site and immediately announced that an independent state-level Commission of Inquiry would be set up to ensure there was no cover-up in determining the cause of the incident.
“At the same time, a stop-work order was immediately issued to the developer, while the professional consultants and contractors involved in the project were blacklisted pending the outcome of the inquiry.
“In addition, the state government also ordered the city council to lodge a police report seeking an investigation into the possibility of professional negligence.
“As far as the state government is concerned, those responsible will be ultimately held accountable.”