KUALA LUMPUR — The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has ordered an immediate halt to condominium construction and roadworks on a hillside near the site of a landslide that killed a man in Taman Seri Rambai, Paya Terubong, here today.
MBPP mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the stop-work order was issued to facilitate further investigations into the incident.
“The road and condominium projects have been ongoing for more than a year, while slope stabilisation works are also being carried out in the area.
“So far, we have recommended that the occupants of six houses identified as potentially unsafe relocate temporarily to prevent any untoward incidents,” he told reporters at the scene today, Bernama reports.
Wong Kar Lin, 73, a doctor, was found trapped after the landslide struck the back of his house. Rescuers recovered his body at about 11.20 am.
The landslide occurred around 8 am today and was called in to the Penang Fire and Rescue Department at 8.36am. A team from the Paya Terubong Fire and Rescue Station was dispatched to the scene.
Wong’s wife Chang Mei Nuo, 68, told local media her husband was in the kitchen at the back of the house preparing breakfast when the landslide struck.
Chang and her mother, Wong Poh Lim, in her 80s, managed to escape shortly after the incident.
State Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said slope stabilisation works had been ongoing out in the area, but some sections had yet to be completed when the landslide occurred.
“Unfortunately, the section that had yet to be completed was the one affected by the landslide. Further investigations are ongoing before more detailed information can be provided,” he said.
He said the immediate priority was to ensure the safety of nearby residents while allowing the relevant authorities to investigate the cause of the incident. – October 25, 2026