“The road project must go on, regardless of anything. It must be completed within the time frame (by 2020). Like it or not, it is a project that is crucial,” Yew said during a visit to the site.
Saying he had seen a “water source” being blocked and had ordered for its diversion, Yew said it was too premature to pinpont the cause of the incident pending a deeper probe by the authorities.
He said he suspected something was not right on Saturday.
“I realised that a water source had been closed with no proper diversion.
“I do not want to jump to conclusions, but you do not need an expert to tell you that a stream ought to be diverted before any construction can begin,” Yew said.
He said an immediate diversion of the stream was done so as not to further affect the stability of the work site, as an intense search and recovery effort of another three bodies was ongoing.
Yew said a drone team from the federal Minerals and Geosciences Department (JMG) had also confirmed there was a water source on the hill.
The mayor, who was the city council’s former building director, said the alignment of the elevated road was mooted in the 1990s and was the best way to alleviate traffic on the central portion of the island.
Yew said before the approval of the project, independent engineers had gone through all the components of the project with a fine tooth comb.
He did not rule out professional negligence in the project.
“We will work with the Board of Engineers to see how we can avert such an incident in future,” he said, referring to the federal engineers’ regulatory body under the Works Ministry.
Thirteen victims were buried in the Bukit Kukus landslide.
Eight bodies were recovered from the site so far.