reversal/collapse.
this is obviously a very naive, ignorant, and misinformed rant.
in a nutshell: on december 11th, 1993, Block One of the Highland Towers condominium collapsed. 48 died, while over 1,000 residents abandoned their units in the two other Blocks of the development. now, after 12 years, the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) has been cleared of liability for the losses suffered by 73 residents, who had filed a suit against it, under Section 95 (2) of the Street, Drainage & Building Act 1974. a 2-1 majority vote had been undertaken by three Justices granting the municipal council immunity from liability.
it's not as bad as it sounds. the 73 residents had already been fully compensated by Arab-Malaysian, and a further RM 374, 000 per resident was paid out to 139 residents of the towers. the municipal council itself was found liable for post-collapse events (though not for the collapse itself). appeals from the defendants were dismissed. justice had been served to a degree.
however, giving the MPAJ a box to hide under only underscores the fact that when wrong, the bureaucratics are given a tight slap on the wrist and then let off. i'm not saying that the MPAJ deserves sole credit for everything; it's just that all other parties had done their share. why was the MPAJ let off the hook? if the council had done a dodgy job, it's only right that it owns up and gets what it deserves for its negligence.
look.
it isn't the MPAJ's responsibility to ensure that your house or condo isn't going to collapse anytime soon; that duty is squarely put upon the developer of your property. but it is the MPAJ's responsibility to ensure that the land your property's situated on is maintained and serviced so that unwanted incidents will not occur. you're living on its space, paying its rates...it's the least that it could do for you.
if the MPAJ was found liable, nothing groundbreaking would have happened...however, a slight precedent could have been set whereby new standards could have been established to ensure that another Highland Towers tragedy definitely doesn't happen again. minimizing the risk to the best effect should be kept at the top of the list.
but granting it immunity send the wrong signals...a light admonishment and it's back to work. just another malaysian thing. ho hum. why couldn't it be recognized that it had to assume a bare minimum of responsibility? they didn't do a good job, pre-collapse and post-collapse; it should be acknowledged in the best way possible - thru "justice".
hopefully, some kind of lessons have been learnt from the whole shebang...b'coz knowing us, we tend to forget them once the hooplah fades.
in a nutshell: on december 11th, 1993, Block One of the Highland Towers condominium collapsed. 48 died, while over 1,000 residents abandoned their units in the two other Blocks of the development. now, after 12 years, the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) has been cleared of liability for the losses suffered by 73 residents, who had filed a suit against it, under Section 95 (2) of the Street, Drainage & Building Act 1974. a 2-1 majority vote had been undertaken by three Justices granting the municipal council immunity from liability.
it's not as bad as it sounds. the 73 residents had already been fully compensated by Arab-Malaysian, and a further RM 374, 000 per resident was paid out to 139 residents of the towers. the municipal council itself was found liable for post-collapse events (though not for the collapse itself). appeals from the defendants were dismissed. justice had been served to a degree.
however, giving the MPAJ a box to hide under only underscores the fact that when wrong, the bureaucratics are given a tight slap on the wrist and then let off. i'm not saying that the MPAJ deserves sole credit for everything; it's just that all other parties had done their share. why was the MPAJ let off the hook? if the council had done a dodgy job, it's only right that it owns up and gets what it deserves for its negligence.
look.
it isn't the MPAJ's responsibility to ensure that your house or condo isn't going to collapse anytime soon; that duty is squarely put upon the developer of your property. but it is the MPAJ's responsibility to ensure that the land your property's situated on is maintained and serviced so that unwanted incidents will not occur. you're living on its space, paying its rates...it's the least that it could do for you.
if the MPAJ was found liable, nothing groundbreaking would have happened...however, a slight precedent could have been set whereby new standards could have been established to ensure that another Highland Towers tragedy definitely doesn't happen again. minimizing the risk to the best effect should be kept at the top of the list.
but granting it immunity send the wrong signals...a light admonishment and it's back to work. just another malaysian thing. ho hum. why couldn't it be recognized that it had to assume a bare minimum of responsibility? they didn't do a good job, pre-collapse and post-collapse; it should be acknowledged in the best way possible - thru "justice".
hopefully, some kind of lessons have been learnt from the whole shebang...b'coz knowing us, we tend to forget them once the hooplah fades.
posted by funkyhippopotamus at
2:54:00 am
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