Batang Kali Campsites Were Operating Illegally Since 2020
According to Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming, checks showed that the operator at Father's Organic Farm, which was hit by a fatal landslide today, 16 December, did not have a licence to host camping activities.
The three camping sites that were hit by a landslide at Batang Kali this morning, 16 December, had been operating illegally since 2020
The campsites were only granted planning permission for organic farming approved by the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council (MPHS) in 2019, stated Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming.
According to the Teluk Intan member of parliament (MP), the operators filed an application to begin organic farming activities in 2019, however, they began operating the campsite in 2020.
New Straits Times reported Nga, who visited the area, as saying that the campsite operators had, therefore, breached provisions under the Street, Drainage, and Buildings Act 1974 (Act 133).
"The government will take stern action (against the operators). No one is above the law," he said, adding that a breach of Act 133 provides a punishment of three years in jail or a maximum fine of RM50,000.
Image via Bomba Selangor
Nga said he has alerted 155 local authorities nationwide to clear all campsites located near rivers for seven days effective immediately
The directive, he said, will remain in effect until further notice.
Meanwhile, he also ordered those operating campsite activities without licences to cease operations immediately and apply for licences quickly before action is taken against them.
Furthermore, the government, he added, will work with the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) to review the risk faced by such campsites, advising operators to engage with the Mineral and Geoscience Department to assess their land structure.
Nga Kor Ming with Malaysian authorities at the site of the Batang Kali landslide today, 16 December.
Image via New Straits Times
Among the victims, there are more than 20 teachers and their family members, who were supposed to return home this morning:
The death toll has been rising every hour since the news broke:
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