Highland Tower Latest(2.12.2013)Final Edited

8/13/2019 Highland Tower Latest(2.12.2013)Final Edited

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CONTENTS

No. Title Page

1. Overview 2

2. Chronology of tragedy 4

3. Sequence of the tragedy 7

4. Cause of tragedy 8

5. Court Case 8

6. Actions for Prevention 11

7. Implication of Tragedy 13

8. Liability 14

9. Problem Solving Toolsi. Application of line drawing

ii. FILA table16

10. Discussioni. Utilitarianism

ii.

Duty Ethicsiii. Right Ethicsiv. Self Realizationv. BEM

vi. Code of Ethics

20

11. Conclusion 26

12. Reference 27


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seen flowing down the hill slopes and the retaining walls. Soon after, a landslip took place

and destroyed the poorly constructed retaining walls. The landslide contained an estimated

100,000 square meters of mud - a mass equivalent to 200Boeing 747jets. The soil rammed

onto the foundation of Block One, pushing it forward for a while before causing it to snap

and bringing down the apartment block. The official death toll released by the authorities was

48, though other sources gave a number greater than 55. The victims are mainly Malaysian,

with 12 foreigners (a Briton, Japanese, 2 Indians, 2 Koreans, 3 Filipino and 3 Indonesian).

Rescuers heard knocking and voices right up to the seventh day after the collapse. Only three

people, including an infant, were pulled out from the rubble alive, and only within the first 24

hours. Baby Norhamidah Najib 18 month, was the first one pulled out from the debris,

unscathed. She was protected by her mother, Umi Rashidah Khoruman, 22 who also

survived. Japanese lady, Shizue Nakajima, was the second one is pulled out alive. She suffers

serious injuries. However she died later that night. Only two survive the collapsed building.

48 others did not manage to escape in time, rest in peace.

A month before the building fell, in November 1993, residents began to see cracks

forming and widening on the road around the Highland Towers, a sign of collapse but

unfortunately, no further investigation was carried out. In November 2002, almost nine years

after the incident, abungalowbelonging toAffin Bank chairman General (Retired) Tan Sri

Ismail Omar collapsed due to a landslide. It was located just meters away from the towers.

On 11 December 2004, in conjunction with the eleventh anniversary of the tragedy, all

former residents and victims of the Highland Towers gathered at the site as a final farewell,

after knowing that the property will be transferred toAmBank.Later, on 6 December 2008,

just five days short of the 15th anniversary of the incident,another landslide in Bukit

Antarabangsa took place just 1.5 kilometers away from Highland Towers. The landslide

buried 14 bungalows. It can be observed that all these incidents occurred late in the year, at

the height of the northeastern monsoon season when there is heavy rain.

The Highland Towers had been a popular source of haunted stories in the years

thereafter, a result of the tragedy that took forty-eight lives. There were plans to repair the

two remaining blocks and re-occupy them back in 1995, but unfortunately, researches

revealed that the blocks were no longer structurally safe and the only thing that could be done

is demolish them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Taman_Hillview_bungalow_collapsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affin_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmBankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bukit_Antarabangsa_landslidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bukit_Antarabangsa_landslidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bukit_Antarabangsa_landslidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Bukit_Antarabangsa_landslidehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AmBankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affin_Bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Taman_Hillview_bungalow_collapsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747


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2. CRONOLOGY OF TRAGEDY

No. Date Event

01 1964 -Department of Town and Village (JPBK) the State began to

make an assessment.

-Kuala Lumpur Regional Office approved the application of the

proposed project

02 1974 Construction of the building was initiated by the Consortium of

Consulting Architects (KJP) for the High Land Properties Sdn

Bhd.

03 1978 Building Block 1 has been completed and given CF by Gombak

District Council and has been occupied residents.


District Council and has been occupied residents


District Council and has been occupied residents.

06 1 July 1992 Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) was established and

given responsibility to handle the project.

07 October 1992 Water began to flow down the hill slopes due to the flooding

caused by the burst pipes.

08 1993 MPAJ gave CF for the construction of the basement car park.

09 November -Serious crack were found by the resident on the road near the

apartment.

-Cracks began to form and widen on the road leading to the

towers.

10 October 1992 Water began to flow down the hill slopes due to the flooding

caused by the burst pipes.

11 November 1993 Cracks began to form and widen on the road leading to the

towers.

12 December 11,

1993

-Block 1 of the Highland Towers collapses at 1.35 pm.

-124 members of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) and about 30

military personnel and engineers from Batu Cantonment Camp

and Wardie burn Camp are deployed for search and rescue.


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at 8.30 p.m. while the third, a man, was found at 10.15 p.m. the

night.

20 December 20 -So far, 25 corpses, including one who embraced the Qur'an

found in Level 12 are discovered. Also found were the remains

of a woman wearing a sari and shielding a child.

21 December 22 -The search is ended. Dr Nik Hassan Nik Ramlan is appointed

chairman of the Technical Committee of Investigating the

Highland Towers tragedy.

Table 1: Chronology of tragedy


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3. SEQUENCE OF THE TRAGEDY

(a)

(b)

(c)(d)

(e)

Figure 1: The Sequence of the Tragedy with

Picture. (a): The retaining wall located above the

Highland Tower collapse. (b): Force equivalent

to 200 Boeing 747 jets ramp to foundation of

block 1 Highland Tower. (c): The building starts

to move in slow motion. (d): The building starts

to collapse. (e): Block 1 of Highland Tower

completely collapses.


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4. CAUSE OF TRAGEDY

The local authority set up a Technical Committee of Enquires but only the factual data

contained in the report were accepted by the Highland Court. After due consideration , thecourt ruled that the landslide that brought down Block 1 was a rotational retrogressive slide

emanating from the high wall behind the second tier car park. The High Court also decided

that Block 1 had collapsed due to a landslide caused primarily by water which emanated from

the damaged pipe culvert, and the inadequate and unattended drains on the adjacent land. In

addition, the culvert pipe which was carrying the waters of the diverted East Stream was

leaking.

In general there are many factors that cause the tragedy from happen listed below:

i. Construction of buildings on the edge of a hill even is not suitable, especially inequatorial and tropical climates with high rainfall.

ii. Building apartment on the hillside is also against with the Land Conservation Act1960. The Act prohibits the development carried out on the hillsides with slopes

greater than 18 degree for reasons connected to the environment.

iii. Inconsistency between the Land Conservation Act with the Environment Quality Act1974.

5. THE COURT CASE

On 15 December 1993, the Highland Towers Owners and Residents Committee was set

up (Hock & Yee, 2008). About three years later, on 5 December 1996, 73 owners and

residents (plaintiffs) field a suit against ten parties (defendants) based on claims of negligence,

nuisance and strict liability. The plaintiffs also alleged that they had been unable to re-occupy

Blocks 2 and 3 emanating from the collapse of Block 1, as the result of MPAJs pre -collapse

and post- collapse acts and omissions. Meanwhile, on 3 November 1997, the Coroners Court

found no incriminating factors in the 48 deaths and ruled the incident was not a natural

disasters but which could be considered a misadventure.

The defendants, who they claimed were jointly or severally liable for causing or

contributing to the collapse of Block 1 and the subsequent abandonment of the other two, are


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listed in Table (3). Arab Malaysia Finance Bhd was involved when in 1991, the developer

transferred ownership of the hill slope to the finance company due to outstanding loans.

Defendents Remarks

1

st

Developer Highland Properties Sdn Bhd2n Draftman Engaged by the developer as the architect for the

project

3r Engineer Engaged by the developer as the engineer for the

project

4t Majlis Perbandaran Ampang

Jaya

MPAJ was the local authority for approvals

related to the project

5t Arab-Malaysia Finance Bhd Owner of 50 lots of bungalow land directly at the

rear of Highland Towers

6t Tropic The company that carried out clearing works on

the 5thdefendants land in 1992

7t Owner of Metrolux land The higher land adjacent to the 5t defendantsland

8t Project manager for the 7t

Defendant

Was in charge of the development of the

Metrolux land

9t Selangor State Government

10t Director of Lands and Mines,

Selangor

Table 2: Defendant involved in tragedy

Based on studies conducted by the Technical Investigation Committee the main cause of thisincident is occurring landslips at the hill slope rear of the apartment building. However, there

are other causes that caused the fault which led to the collapse of Highland Tower building,

stated below:

i. Since development takes place at Hill International which is located on the hillnear the condominium water has seeped into the hillside, causing mud flood. This

is due to the clearing plants, located 150 meters above the Highland Towersapartments. It was developed by Malaysia Borneo Finance (MBF) and Arab-

Malaysian Finance Bhd.(Shareholders). Furthermore this mud flood has caused

the road around apartment cracked

ii. Surface water flow that occurs over this incident has caused soil erosion on hillslopes. This phenomenon caused the soil structure slope becomes weak until the

occurrence of landslide.


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6. ACTIONS FOR PREVENTION

This part is discussed about the action in order to prevent the disaster happen again. Below

are the few actions that can be taking:-

1. Enforce the regulation.a. Ensure the qualification of worker.In Highland Tower case, an architect is one of the person that been blame for the

collapse of the block 1 building. This is because the architect hired is only qualified to

plan for a building not more than 3 floors, but somehow, he has already plan Highland

Tower which has 12 floors. This has showed that the construction company and

authorities do not take too serious about the qualification of the worker.

b. Provide guide for type of material and building can be built on the hillsidearea.

Government should provide guidelines for the type of material and

construction that can be built around the hillside area. This will give construction

company to be more careful when built building on the hillside area.

c. Tighten the housing and construction approval on the hillside area.Government should tighten the housing and construction approval on the

hillside area. As in Highland Tower case, the area around the building has built with

retaining wall and prepared for another new construction. This shows that people not

care about the nature of the hillside area.

2. Plan the drainage system.The main cause of the block 1 Highland Tower collapse after 10 days rainy is the

drainage system which located above the Highland Tower. Above the Highland Tower,

there is a small stream that been diverting into a system drain and pipe. In the early 1990,

the new development in Bukit Antarabangsa begins on the other sides of the area. Water

system was diverting into the same drain and pipe above Highland Tower. This drain and

pipe become stress by the increase flow of water and silt. Thus cause the huge value of

wet mud burst forward and downward and smashing to the retaining wall and thefoundation of block 1 Highland Tower. [10] Therefore, by providing more drainage


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system and build a systematic drainage might help in order to avoid this disaster happen

again.

3. Ensure the safety of construction on the hillsidea. Regular check on the building after built.

This can help taking an action before anything bad happen.b. Control logging and replanting trees on the construction and hillside area.

Trees have a very important role in preventing soil erosion. Their rootsvery powerful in holding the soil. Besides, trees absorb and store

rainwater which reduce runoff and sediment deposit after storms.

4. Provide a workshop to give awareness about the construction.This workshop is providing to responsible people who involved in the

construction such as local authorities and construction company in order to give them

awareness. This workshop should discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the

construction and the short term and long term consequences of the construction. Besides,

this workshop will be one of the ways to remind them the law that can takes against them

and also remind them that they should not take bribe and take serious in handling the

approval of the construction because this is about the life and safety of people. They

should think what will happen if this disaster happen to their family.


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7. IMPLICATIONS OF THE TRAGEDY

There are many impacts due to collapse of Highland Tower

i. PEOPLE About 48 people lost their lives that have been discovered and identified. The victims

are mainly Malaysian, with 12 foreigners which is 1 Britain, 1 Japanese, 2 Indians, 2

Koreans, 3 Filipina and 3 Indonesian.

Cause loss of property worth millions of ringgit.ii. NATION Doubted by foreign countries about the strength of the buildings construction in

Malaysia.

iii. GOVERNMENT Review of acts of environment with by the authorities. Amendments of existing act related to environment.

iv. ENVIRONTMENT Cause damage to the environment seriously affected areas.

v. DEVELOPER The possibility of public response on the hillside housing will decrease. This raised

concerns among developers.


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8. LIABILITY

The 10 Defendants were as bellows:

1. The F ir st Defendant (Developer) was liable in negligence for:i. Not employing reasonably fit, competent, skilled and qualified persons to design,

draw, sign and submit architectural and engineering drawings and plans for the

construction of Highland Towers and the hill slope behind it.

ii. Not vetting through their appointments to ensure that they are competent andpossess such skill for the task they are employed to undertake which involves

enquiries and investigations into their credentials and qualifications.

iii. Constructing insufficient and inadequate retaining walls on the Arab-Malaysian land and the Highland Towers site without considering the

surrounding terrain, soil condition and drainage requirement.

iv. Constructing drains that were insufficient to effect proper and adequate drainageof water run-offs on the slope and those originating from the East Stream.

v. Diversion of the East Stream from its natural path to the pipe culvert which ranhorizontally across the hill slope directly above the three blocks.

vi. Obtaining CF to occupy the three blocks when the drainage system in theHighland Towers site and the Arab-Malaysian land was incomplete.

2. The Second Defendant (Archi tect) was liable in negligence for:i. Not having ensured adequate drainage and retaining walls were built on the hill

slopes adjacent to the Highland Towers site, which he foresaw or ought to have

foreseen, would pose a danger to the buildings he was in charge of;

ii. In not complying with the requirements of the authorities in respect of drainage, incolluding with the First Defendant and Third Defendant (the Engineer) to obtain a

Certificate of Fitness without fulfilling the conditions imposed by the Fourth

Defendant (the Local Authority), in so doing not complying with his duties as

Architect, and;

iii. In not investigating the terracing of the hill slopes and construction of retainingwalls even though he was aware they would affect the buildings he was in charge

of, and also in nuisance as he was an unreasonable user of land.


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3. The Thi rd Defendant (Engineer) was liable in negligence for:i. Not having taken into account the hill or slope behind the Towers;ii. Not having designed and constructed a foundation to accommodate the lateral

loads of a landslide or alternatively to have ensured that the adjacent hill slopeswas stable, for not having implemented that approved drainage scheme;

iii. For colluding with the First and Second Defendants to obtain a Certificate ofFitness without fulfilling the conditions imposed by the Fourth Defendant and also

in nuisance as he was an unreasonable user of land.

4. The Fourth Defendant (Local Authori ty) was li able in negligence for :i. At the planning and design stage of Highland Towers, MPAJ had not taken

reasonable care, skill and diligence in checking the plans submitted to ascertain

whether they are reasonably fit for the purpose it was intended for. This included

matters relating to water courses, streams and rivers in the vicinity of the

Highland Towers site, Arab Malaysian land and the surroundings which were

under the jurisdiction of MPAJ.

ii. At the construction stage of the Highland Towers, MPAJ failed to exercisereasonable care, skill and diligence to ensure the drainage system and the rubble

walls on Arab Malaysian land were adequately provided for and/or constructed

in a workman-like manner before the issuance of the Certificate of Fitness to thethree apartmentblocks;

iii. MPAJ failed to maintain and upgrade drains and rubble walls on HighlandTowers site and Arab Malaysian land, and to provide adequate drainage

requirement to water courses, streams and rivers after the Highland Towers was

constructed;

iv. MPAJ failed to take remedial measures to remove, rectify and/or minimise thehazards posed on the Arab-Malaysian land and the surroundings after the

collapse of Block 1;

v. MPAJ failed to prevent vandalism and theft at Blocks 2 and 3 in the aftermathof the collapse of Block 1;

vi. MPAJ failed to maintain the East Stream which was under itsjurisdiction;Although negligent in respect of its duties associated with building. i.e. in respect of

approval of building plans, to ensure implementation of the approved drainage system

during construction, and in the issue of the Certificate of Fitness, was nonetheless

conferred immunityby reason of s95(2) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act.


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5. The Fifth Defendant (Arab-Malaysian F inance Bhd) was liable in negligence in failing

to maintain the drains on its land, and in taking measures to restore stability on its land after

the collapse.

6. The Sixth Defendant (an aborti ve purchaser of the Ar ab-Malaysian Land who carr ied

out site clearing works) was not found liable on theevidence.

7. The Seventh Defendant (Metrolux Properties) and its Project Manager, the Eighth

Defendant, who were liable in negligence and nuisance forpreventing water from flowing

downhill (into their site) and insteaddirecting water into the East Stream, when they knew or

ought tohave known that this would increase the volume of water and inject silt, especially

where there was extensive clearing on their land, into the East Stream where it would be

deposited, which would in turn (asproved) cause or contribute to the failure of the drainage

system andcollapse of Block 1.

8. The Ninth and Tenth Defendants (essenti all y the State Government) were not found

liable due to a technical issue in respect of theparticular party sued.

9. PROBLEM SOLVING TOOLS

a. Application of Line Drawing

Problem statement:

Before the construction of the Highland Tower was started, the defendants

mentioned in subtopic Liability that they should do the research and consider of what

were going to happen to human, animals and environment if they were going to proceed

with the construction of the Highland Tower building.

In order to solve this problem, we have decided to use line drawing that have 2 ends

which are Positive Paradigm (PP) and Negative Paradigm (NP). PP indicates that the

points are morally acceptable while NP indicates that the points are not morally acceptableand N indicates neutral. Below are the PP and NP for our problem statement.

i. Positive Paradigm (PP) - The Highland Tower building should be built as planned.ii. Negative Paradigm (NP)- The Highland Tower building should not be built for the

safety reason.

After did some research, we had found several actions that the developer should

consider before the construction of the Highland Tower building is approved and start to be


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built. Below are the actions that developer should consider before the construction of

Highland Tower:-

1. The building should be built on the hillside area in order to serve the resident withthe beautiful view of Kuala Lumpur.

2. The construction of the building is important to fulfill the demand of housing marketand human need.

3. Flatten the hillside area for construction will cause the area have higher possibility toget landslide and damage the stability of the land.

4. The building should be built if the worker hired is highly qualified for theconstruction and the building is suitable for the area.

5. Clear and deforest the hillside area enable developer built the retaining wall tosupport the land but it can weaken the structure of the hillside area and damage the

nature of the hillside area.

6. Developer can construct new construction area by diverting the small stream locatedabove the Highland Tower building, but it can damaged the retaining wall and smash

the foundation of Highland Tower building when the drainage system has been stress

with water flow and silt.

7. Clear and deforest the hillside area in order to makes way for the buildingconstruction and new development without care that the action can damage the rain

catchment area, destroy the animals habitat and expose the area to soil erosion.

8. The building should be built but do regular check on the building after built andmaintain the hillside area by replanting trees and provide systematic drainage system.

Line Drawing

4 8

N

25 176 3

NP PP

The Highland Tower

building should not

be built

The Highland Tower

building should be

built

P


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surrounding area. The area around the Highland Towerhas built with retaining wall in order

to prepare for another new

construction. The other area above the Highland

Tower was cleared and deforested for

new development of Bukit

Antarabangsa.

The development of BukitAntarabangsa share the same

drainage system located above the

Highland Tower.

Learning Issues Action

Why the buildings collapse? Where the mistakes that causes the

building collapse?

Who should responsible for thecollapse of the building?

What action can be used in order toprevent it happen again?

Enforce the Regulation. Plan the drainage system. Tighten the approval of housing and

construction in hillside area.

Ensure the qualification of workerhired.

Conduct regular inspection on thebuilding built at the hillside area.

Replanting trees on the buildinglocated in hillside area.

Provide guidelines for the buildingwhich want to be built on the hillside

area.

Provide workshop to give awarenessfor the responsible people.


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10. DISCUSSIONS

Ethical theory

Ethical theory help us to understand and solve ethical problems. Ethical theory is acomprehensive perspective on morality that clarifies, organizes and guide moral reflection. It

also provide a framework for making moral choices and resolving moral dilemmas. There are

five main ethical theories which are Utilitarianism, Right ethics, Duty Ethics, Virtue ethics

and Self-realization ethics. We will discuss the role of Utilitarianism, tight ethics, duty ethics

and self-realization ethics below.

i. UtilitarianismIn this case study, utilitarianism is one of the ethical theory that apply to all defendants

liable in causing this tragedy. Utilitarianism define maximize the overall good, taking into

equal account all those affected by our actions. This theory try to balance the needs of society

with needs of the individual, with an emphases in the most beneficial to the most people.

There are two versions of utilitarianism which are act-utilitarianism and rule-utilitarianism.

Act utilitarianismdefine that individual actions should be judge based on the most good

produced even if moral rules should be broken. In this tragedy, highland tower is seen to be a

high demand accommodate during the time when highland tower was plan to build in Taman

Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor. In order to earn more profit, the developer implement the plan

to build highland tower below the hill slope even he knowing that it is unsafe. Developer also

not hiring qualified engineer to design, draw, sign and submit architectural and engineering

drawings and plans for the construction of Highland Towers and the hill slope behind it. Thearchitect in colluding with developer and engineer to obtain a Certificate of Fitness even they

not fulfill the conditions imposed by the MPAJ. As an engineer, he is not taking into account

the hill slope behind the towers which will bring harm to public life. MPAJ is not taking care

in checking the plans submitted to ascertain whether they are reasonably fit for the purpose it

was intended for. Act utilitarianism seems to justify wrong doings in this tragedy to fulfill

individual needs rather than society needs.

Rule utilitarianism define that moral rules must be adhered at all time. Rule

utilitarianism was developed primary as a way of correcting problems with act utilitarianism.

In this case study, all moral values has been broken in order to earn maximum profit. Rule

utilitarianism emphasis on principle, faithful, trustee and professional in planning a project.

Lessons from this tragedy, people should have ethical thinking when develop something and

people should consider the possible consequence of unethical act that will endanger public

safety.

ii. Right EthicsA right is an expectation about something to deserve or a way to act that is justified

through a legal or moral foundation. Humans have all types of rights, including legal, moral,

spiritual, natural and fundamental rights. Examples of rights include the right to education


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provided by society or the right to bear arms. Ethical behaviour must recognize and respect a

series of rights that belong to each person, animal or society.

Right ethics is the respect towards human rights. The incident that happen to Highland

Tower due to the collapse of the building. People who are resident of Highland Tower have

the right of human rights is not to be injured, be informed about the risks and safety of one'ssurrounding environment, liveable environment, pursuit of happiness, decent human life and

many more. There are also special moral rights, rights held by particular individuals rather

than by every human being.

iii. Duty EthicsDuties are a direct result of the acceptance of rights. Each person has a duty to uphold

or respect another person's rights, just as he has the duty to uphold your rights. Once a person

accepts a right, or is told as in legal rights, he must uphold that right for himself and others.

Duty ethics is to respect individual's autonomy. Some of the examples of duty ethics

is people deserve respect because they are capable of recognizing and voluntarily responding

to moral duty. Autonomy which is also a moral self-determination or self-governance, means

having the capacity to govern ones life in accordance to moral duties. It is a moral duty to do

what is right because it is right, unconditionally and without special incentives attached. For

example, we should be honest because honesty is required by duty; it is required by our basic

duty to respect the autonomy of others, rather than to deceive and exploit them. For example

the incident that happens to Highland Tower, due to the collapse of the building. The

responsible person should take action in proper ways to do their duty to people who are thevictim from that incident and also have a duty to respect what people claim for their right.

iv. Self-Realization

The first effort to prevent landslides in the country is that the government should

undertake replanting trees on hill slopes, especially in areas that have been developed. The

noble cause is the best way to keep the slopes and areas developed from being exposed to the

risk of landslides. These efforts can also strengthen land through the development process.There is no doubt that the development is carried out causing lots of trees felled and

excavated the hill in the name of development. Forests and hills are pegs to the ecosystem of

the earth. Logging and uncontrolled deforestation has loosened the soil texture, making the

slope of loose and collapsed. In Malaysia, heavy rain will cause soil on the hillsides become

loose and slide. Therefore, large trees are rooted in and cover crops should be planted to save

development area exposed to the weather and heavy rain. This can help restrict the movement

of soil from the groundwater flow brought the slide unstable slopes. Efforts grow back trees

or plants; can compress back ground relaxation due to development. Landslide that occurred

at Highland Tower and Hill Condominiums International, for example, is still a nightmare of

due ignores weak slope close to home. Obviously, to prevent landslides, the government mustreplant trees on hill slopes.


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The second attempt can be done to prevent landslides is that the government planned to

build a drainage system. Planned drainage system essential to allow rain water to flow from

the slopes of the hills well and continue to drain or river and sea. Water will not stagnate in

the area causing flooding. This condition can indirectly prevent soil erosion and landslides.

The drainage system is built to function as a strong fortress on the hillside. Planned drainage

system can compress the soil structure on the hillside. If there is no drainage system built into

the hillside, heavy rain in the hills will cause stagnant water and absorb the hillside through

the soil until the soil becomes loose and the structure is not strong. This could invite

consequences such as flash floods, soil erosion and landslides. Upland areas developed very

risky development of landslides and mudflows. So it was. It is clear that the planned

construction of a drainage system to prevent landslides.

The planned development is also an effort be made to reduce the occurrence of

landslides. Government needs to confront competition with strategic development and smart.

Strategic actions and systematic practice development is very important to ensure that

development does not invite consequences. Planned development must be people-friendly,taking into account the safety and welfare of the people. It cannot be stopped development,

but development should be planned properly to reduce the phenomenon of catastrophic to the

conservation of nature and man. Development such as housing, farming and tourism must be

planned carefully for the sake of security in the long term. The farm that have been built on a

hillside terrace besides laying out a path to save the crops and slopes. Government or

developers need to examine the integrity of the land on the hillside from time to time to

prevent landslides untoward happens. The amount of government should also set quotas for

development on the slopes of the hill. In addition, certain parties such as developers need to

create an Emergency Response Plan to respond quickly when a sign of slope movement

occurs. Development planning should look natural symbiosis with the projects to bedeveloped. Clearly, the development planned to avoid mishaps such as landslides.

Finally, law enforcement should be implemented to prevent the occurrence of which

can be fatal. Strict enforcement can prevent some of the development projects as very

lightly. Enforcement without favouritism is to prevent irresponsible act. The government

should regulate logging and deforestation in the country. In this regard, the government

should limit the number of licenses approved for deforestation. Only trees that are old enough

are allowed to cut timber concession license and must be revised. Approval of Certificate of

Fitness Residential and development in upland areas and slopes should be given proper

attention by the relevant ministries. Those who violate the regulations should be punished as

imprisonment or fines as a lesson not to repeat the offense. Fixing act as Development Act,

the Land Act and the Forestry Act to protect the rights and critical situations and saved.

Obviously, the strict enforcement could have an impact on the for-profit regardless of social

welfare.

In conclusion, Malaysians still have space efforts and to prevent landslides. An effort

of all parties is hoped that this landslide is inevitable. All security measures and regulations

should not be underestimated because of that attitude may invite consequences. Malaysians

are expected to reflect on the words of Chief Seattle that We do not inherit the earth from

our ancestor; instead we have borrowed it from our descendants.Therefore, we need to take

care of something that we've borrowed so that we can return to the situation that is still good.


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v. Board of Engineer Malaysia (BEM) CourtA Technical Committee was formed to investigate the tragedy and lead by Dr Nik Hassan

Nik Ramlan. After the investigation finished, the committee came up with a result that

concluded:

1. Retaining walls were constructed in a bad manner; some were located on theHighland Towers Site with the rest in the Arab Malaysian Land;

2. All drainage and geo-technical experts who testified in this case agree that theflow regime of the east Stream into the pipe culvert running across the hill is

highly undesirable and dangerous.

Due to the technical committee result, Ir. Wong Yuen Kean was called to a hearing by The

Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) for his involvement in The Highland Towers collapse.

Due to the technical committee result, Ir. Wong Yuen Kean was called to a hearing by The

Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) for his involvement in The Highland Towers collapse.

At the hearing:

1. BEM found Ir. Wong guilty on the grounds that he:a. Did not dispute that he was responsible for the drainage design;

b. Admitted that the whole drainage system was not complete;c. Had assisted/advised the Majlis Daerah Gombak in the application for CFO as

the drainage system was an integral part of the project; and

d. Had failed to exercise due care that the slope was reasonably stable.

2. In mitigation, Ir. Wong pleaded that:a. From the completion of the towers to the collapse, others may have

constructed walls which made the slope steeper, causing its collapse;

b. He had no previous charges against him;c. Apart from the Highland Towers, he had at all material time conducted his

professional duty based on his judgment and had never intended to

compromise on safety;


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a. He was not the sole person responsible for the collapse of the Towers the courthad decided that he was only 10% liable for it;

b. The Board considers the long stop liability as after some time others maychange the surrounding of a building; and

c. Cancellation of registration is too severe and harsh.

In the end of the hearing, BEM have concluded that:

a. Ir. Wongs misconduct showed that he had no regard for public safety, which resultedin the death of 48 people, thus contravening Rule 26 of the Registration of Engineers

Rules 1972; and

b.

Cancelled his registration under Section 15 of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967.

vi. Code of EthicsCode of Professional Conduct (BEM)

A Registered Engineer shall at all times hold paramount the safety, health and welfare

of the public.

When the professional advice of a Professional Engineer is overruled and amended

contrary to his advice, the Professional Engineer shall, if the amendment may in his opinion

give rise to situation that may endanger life and/or property, notify his employer or client and

such other authority as may be appropriate and explain the consequences to be expected as a

result of his advice being overruled and amended.

For the Second Defendant (Architect) did not having ensured that drainage and

retaining walls were build on the hill slopes behind the Highland Towers site. Moreover, the

Architect did not also investigating the terracing of the hill slopes and construction of

retaining walls even though he was aware they would affect the buildings he was in charge of,

and also in nuisance as he was an unreasonable user of land.

For the third defendant (Engineer), the engineer did not having taken into account the

hill or slope behind the Towers, not having implemented that approved drainage scheme.

Furthermore, the engineers did not design and constructed a foundation to accommodate the

lateral loads of a landslide or alternatively to have ensured that adjacent hill slopes was stable.


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A Registered Engineer shall conduct himself honourably, responsibly, ethically and

lawfully so as to enhance the honour, reputation and usefulness of the profession.

For the second defendant of the case (Architect), a Registered Engineer shall check

with due diligence the accuracy of facts and data before he signs or endorses any statement or

claim. He shall not sign on such documents unless, where necessary, qualifications on errors

and inaccuracies have been made. Architect did not complying with the requirements of the

authorities in respect of drainage, in colluding with the Developer and the Engineer to obtain

a Certificate of Fitness without fulfilling the conditions imposed by the Local Authority, in so

doing not complying with his duties as Architect. Besides, the Engineer colluding with the

Architect to obtain a Certificate of Fitness without fulfilling the conditions imposed by the

Local Authority and also in nuisance as he was an unreasonable user of land.


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11. CONCLUSION

Highland Tower tragedy need to be taken deep lessons to all parties that involves in

retaining the environment. It is not due to low utilization of science and technology, but the

attitudes of people who rely on extreme science and technology and forgot remembrance of

the creator that we cannot against the natural law. We cannot simply harm the environment

for our own important.

It is also picture a human failure in managing the development in harmony parallel

with the environment. High-rise building constructions are supposed not to neglect the law

regulation and also avoid human greedy of profit that only benefits certain parties.

It actually reflects the appreciation of our Environmental Ethics very weak among the

citizens of Malaysia and should be improved. All must play their role so that this black

tragedy will not reoccur.

In addition these phenomena picture our country to the outsider and of course will

reflect bad impression to our nation. It will reduce the business interest from outsider that

causes economy decrease and indirectly reduce credibility of our country.


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12. REFERENCE

[1] Lessons Learned From Highland Towers, Murgan D. Maniam, Pengarah

Undang-Undang, Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang.

[2] Engineering Ethics Note (BENU 4853), Chapter 3 Understanding ethicalproblems.

[3] Report of the Task Force on Bukit Antarabangsa

[4] Gue, S. S., & Cheah, S. W. Geotechnical Challenges in Slope Engineering o f

Infrastructures. 2008

[5] Mohd Asbi Othman, Mahadzer Mahmud, Ashaari Mohammad & Mohd Jamal

Sulaiman (2007), Landmark Landslides in Malaysia.

[6] Farisham Abu Samah. Landslides in the Hillside Development in the Hulu

Klang Valley.

[7] The Highland Towers JudgmentCivil Suit No. S5-21-174-1996

[8] Registration Of Engineer ACT 1967

[9] Board Of Engineers Malaysia Guidelines

[10] Video of the The Highlands Tower Tragedy 3/4, minutes 10.27 to 13.00 -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edVQY4E4864
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edVQY4E4864http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edVQY4E4864http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edVQY4E4864

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