PUTRA HEIGHTS INFERNO: S’GOR ASSURES TRANSPARENT PROBE, NO COVER-UPS - MB

SHAH ALAM, April 5 (Bernama) -- The Selangor government has assured that the investigation into the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire in Subang Jaya will be carried out transparently, with no parties being protected.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said that audit teams from both the federal and state governments have been deployed to the Selangor Utility Corridor (KuSel) and the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) following allegations of negligence on the part of both entities that may have led to the incident.

“I want to inform that audits have been conducted on KuSel and MBSJ, and they have allowed us to examine whether the approval processes (for excavation works) and alignments followed the regulations in place.

“Insya-Allah, the truth will come to light, but we need to allow enough time for a thorough and careful investigation to avoid any confusion,” he told a press conference at the state secretariat building here today.

Amirudin also clarified his earlier statement, which appeared to contradict the remarks of Selangor Police Chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, who confirmed yesterday that excavation works had indeed taken place at the scene of the incident.

“I want to clarify that my statement on the first day of the incident may have been misunderstood by some. Based on a brief discussion with the Selangor police chief, who is heading the investigation, we had already suspected the presence of an excavator buried at the site.

“There was never an issue of me denying that work was ongoing or attempting to protect any party, as alleged by some social media users who questioned my role in addressing this matter,” he added.

Meanwhile, Amirudin announced that the state government will provide transport services for children affected by the blaze to attend school starting tomorrow.

He said students who wish to use the service must be present at one of the designated temporary relief centres, either the Putra Heights Mosque or MBSJ’s Dewan Camelia.

“From Monday, five vehicles from Prasarana and the Selangor demand-responsive transit (DRT) programme will be deployed to transport students from the affected families to 34 schools.

“The number of vehicles may be increased depending on need. Victims can check with their respective relief centre coordinators for access to this facility,” he said.

Earlier, Bernama reported that victims of the incident had requested transport assistance to send their children to and from school, as classes are set to resume on Monday following the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays.

-- BERNAMA