MBPP geotechnical consultants unit (GCU) adviser Chin Yaw Ming said the unit monitored private-owned hill slopes while the Public Works Department checked on slopes at public roads.
He said typically all checks on hill slopes were three-tiered, with two technical engineers and one “checker” from the council conducting spot checks.
Chin said five years ago, 34 “risky” hill slope sites were detected, the majority of them on road reserves.
He said people living next to hill slopes could snap photos of the slopes that worried them and send them to MBPP via the #BetterPenang app on their smartphones. (Android / Apple)
“Slopes that are properly constructed with engineering supervision are safe. And slopes that are regularly maintained are also safe. Thus, properly engineered slopes are safe and not a ‘ticking time bomb’.
“MBPP fully understands the importance of slope safety for hill site developments, and has taken a slope safety initiative based on Hong Kong’s Geotechnical Engineering Office,” he told reporters in Komtar today.
MBPP also introduced the Safety Guideline for Hill Site Development in 2012, and it was followed strictly in approving projects on hill sites, he said.
Chin was responding to a FMT story which quoted Aziz Noor, an environmental and geotechnical engineer involved in the investigation of the Highland Towers collapse, as urging Malaysians to be vigilant about steep slopes as they were a ticking time bomb, and disaster might strike at any time.
Chin said MBPP’s GCU was formed in 2014 to look into matters related to hill sites.
He said the primary focus was to lower hill site related risks, such as failing hill slopes, and to offer to mitigate high risk areas to reduce their potential to fail.
The mitigation work involved “improving the robustness” of hill slopes.
“Slopes that are safe are those properly designed and endorsed by professional engineers registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia and who have relevant experience in geotechnical engineering.
“All new projects must fulfil the stringent processes from planning, design and construction to maintenance, and must be properly reviewed before approval is given.
“With proper planning, design, construction and maintenance, hill site developments can be as safe as other developments,” he said.