The developer on whose land the fatal Paya Terubong landslide began has seven days to submit a plan to make the slope safe, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said on 27 October 2026.
Chow, speaking to reporters after visiting the site beside Taman Seri Rambai, said the developer and the landowner of the condominium and road project on the hillside "must take responsibility for the impact of the landslide, including addressing the legal implications" (The Star). That responsibility also covers questions about the development approvals and the mitigation works, he said. The landslide killed Dr Wong Kar Lin, 73, when the slope behind his house collapsed. His wife and mother-in-law escaped.
The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has already stopped work on the site. The mitigation plan must show how the developer will secure the site and stop further slips that could endanger the neighbourhood, the state government's Buletin Mutiara reported. Neither Chow nor the reports named the developer, the landowner or the project.
Preliminary findings put the failure in a stretch of slope on the developer's land where stabilisation works had not yet been done, Chow said. Prolonged rain is believed to have soaked into the soil and added weight to that section, and surface water could not be channelled away. He said the exact cause would be known only when the full reports are in. He has received reports from MBPP and the state Town and Country Planning Department, plus a draft from MBPP's engineering department, and expects the council's complete findings "within the next one or two days".
The project has a long planning history. It was first approved in 1996 and went through changes of landowner, developer and planning guidelines before its latest approval in 2023, Chow said, and the state Appeals Board heard and dismissed an appeal against it. "This shows that MBPP does not grant approvals arbitrarily," he said.
The state has told MBPP and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) to step up monitoring of hillside projects under construction through the rainy season, and some developers may have to pause work to concentrate on site monitoring, Chow said. "With September, October and November traditionally being among Penang's wetter months, everyone must remain vigilant," he said.
He did not say how many hillside sites are under construction on the island or in Seberang Perai, or whether any have been told to stop.
Neighbouring households were advised to move out as a precaution after the landslide. Whether they can go home depends on the authorities' assessment of the slope and the site, Chow said, and no date has been given. Rummah News reported on 27 October that MBPP had halted the condominium and road works next to the site and that the council had sent warning letters to the developer and contractor in September.
The state government and MBPP will give the family whatever help is needed, including legal support where appropriate, Chow said.
Sources: Buletin Mutiara (Penang state government), The Star / Bernama.
