OFFICIAL PORTAL
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
PRIME MINISTER'S DEPARTMENT
NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY
SEREMBAN: Just days after the massive Petronas gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights, Selangor, irresponsible people allegedly set fire to rubbish in a high-risk area near what authorities believe is a gas pipeline beneath the ground at Taman Bukit Sendayan.
The burning of the waste occurred on Thursday, Sinar Harian reported.
The fire covered an area of approximately 200 square feet, about the size of a small room or car park space.
Seremban 2 Fire and Rescue Department senior fire officer I Mohd Nizam Yom said the department received information about the fire incident at 8.30am.
"As soon as we arrived, we found that there was a debris fire covering an area of about 200 square feet.
"We took approximately 15 minutes to control the fire from spreading, and the operation was fully completed at 10.14am," he said.
Nizam said the site was an illegal burning area, consisting of old furniture, boxes, and plastic items.
What was concerning was the presence of a warning sign indicating a gas pipeline route near the burning area, he said.
"I can't confirm if the fire was directly along the gas pipeline route, but there is definitely a warning sign in the area," Nizam said.
More than a hundred people sought medical treatment in hospitals on Tuesday following the Petronas gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights.
The towering inferno which happened on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, was visible for kilometres and lasted for several hours, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.
The incident occurred on the second day of Hari Raya, shocking the local community during the festive holiday period.
SUBANG JAYA: Lebih 100 rumah sementara bakal ditawarkan kepada mangsa insiden letupan paip gas bawah tanah di Putra Heights, di sini.
Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, berkata tawaran itu dibuat menerusi skim SMART Sewa Selangor dengan sebahagian kadar sewaan akan ditanggung kerajaan.
Bagaimanapun, katanya, kerajaan negeri ketika ini masih mengenal pasti lokasi kediaman sementara berkenaan, selain mangsa dijangka memasuki rumah itu mulai minggu depan.
"Rumah sementara ini akan disediakan Lembaga Perumahan dan Hartanah Selangor (LPHS), selain turut mendapat kerjasama daripada pihak Airbnb.
"Sebahagian mangsa akan ditempatkan di Kota Warisan, Sepang, manakala bakinya bakal mendiami rumah di beberapa kawasan yang akan dikenal pasti kemudian.
"Kita cuba menyediakan rumah sementara di kawasan berhampiran, namun ia bergantung kepada ketersediaan dan jumlah unit rizab dalam pegangan kerajaan negeri," katanya pada sidang media di sini, hari ini.
Turut hadir, Menteri Digital, Gobind Singh Deo dan Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Mobiliti negeri, Ng Sze Han.
BH Selasa lalu melaporkan kebakaran besar paip gas berlaku di Putra Heights, Selangor pada hari kedua Aidilfitri, menyebabkan kemusnahan besar sehingga memaksa sebahagian penduduk dipindahkan ke pusat pemindahan sementara (PPS).
Kebakaran saluran paip gas PETRONAS sepanjang 500 meter (m) yang bermula kira-kira jam 8 pagi itu menyebabkan api menjulang tinggi sehingga dapat dilihat beberapa kilometer jauhnya.
Rentetan itu, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) melakukan penandaan terhadap struktur rumah terjejas bagi mengenal pasti tahap keselamatannya, sebelum pasukan penyiasat memulakan tindakan lanjut.
Sementara itu, Amirudin yang juga Ahli Parlimen Gombak berkata, lebih ramai mangsa dijangka dibenarkan pulang ke kediaman masing-masing, hari ini.
Beliau yang juga Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Sungai Tua berkata, kumpulan kedua yang akan dibenar pulang itu membabitkan baki daripada 115 rumah yang dikenal pasti selamat untuk diduduki semula.
"Kumpulan kedua mangsa ini akan dibenarkan pulang ke kediaman mereka hari ini, selepas pihak berkuasa teknikal mengesahkan kediaman mereka selamat diduduki semula.
"Mereka hanya akan dibenarkan pulang selepas pihak berkuasa membuat sambungan semula perkhidmatan utiliti di lokasi ditetapkan," katanya.
SHAH ALAM - Mangsa kebakaran paip gas di Putra Heights tidak boleh membuat sebarang tuntutan pampasan selagi belum mengenal pasti pihak bertanggungjawab dalam insiden tersebut.
Peguam, M Hafiz Zainul Abidin berkata, ia kerana siasatan perlu membuktikan pihak yang bersalah dalam insiden tersebut bagi membolehkan mangsa membuat tuntutan ganti rugi kepada mereka.
“Dalam kes ini, walaupun paip gas itu di bawah Petronas, tetapi siapa yang sebenarnya bertanggungjawab dalam kecuaian itu?
“Jadi tuntutan ganti rugi boleh dibuat kepada pihak Petronas atau pemaju yang terlibat,” katanya kepada Sinar Harian.
Ujar beliau, mangsa perlu menyatakan jumlah kerugian dan butiran yang dikemukakan dalam proses tuntutan tersebut termasuk harta benda, kecederaan fizikal dan mental.
Menurutnya, kerugian dari segi harta benda itu meliputi rumah, kenderaan, barang berharga dan premis yang terjejas akibat kebakaran berkenaan.
“Kecederaan fizikal contohnya jika mangsa sakit sehingga kulit luka, mengalami masalah pernafasan atau sebagainya, kena dapatkan laporan perubatan sebagai bukti.
“Selain itu, mangsa juga boleh berisiko mengalami kesan dari segi mental seperti trauma jangka panjang termasuk Gangguan Tekanan Selepas Trauma (PTSD),” ujarnya.
Kata beliau, meskipun tidak mempunyai insurans, mangsa masih boleh memfailkan tuntutan kerugian kepada pihak bertanggungjawab.
Bagaimanapun tuntutan perlu dilakukan secepat mungkin memandangkan kesan kecederaan dan trauma mungkin berkurangan dan sukar dibuktikan.
“Lebih baik tuntut awal dari segi kerugian harta benda dan kesan kecederaan yang dialami itu. Jika melalui mahkamah, proses tuntutan itu mungkin mengambil masa,” menurutnya.
Tambah beliau, kerajaan dicadangkan supaya mewujudkan satu badan tribunal khas bagi menguruskan tuntutan kerugian melibatkan kes tersebut.
Jelasnya, langkah itu bertujuan menjadi alternatif kepada proses mahkamah yang melibatkan tempoh masa lama dan kos guaman mahal.
“Cadangan itu dapat mempercepatkan urusan tuntutan pampasan mangsa. Bila ada tribunal ini, mangsa hanya perlu kemukakan dokumen tuntutan sahaja tanpa perlukan peguam.
“Jika di mahkamah, mangsa perlu melantik peguam. Itu semua ada kos dan bukan semua orang mampu,” tambahnya.
APRIL 4 — In Malaysia, we often assume danger is out of sight — that as long as infrastructure looks intact, it’s all under control. Until it isn’t.
On the second day of Hari Raya, that assumption went up in flames. A gas pipeline in Putra Heights exploded.
Over a hundred people were injured. Dozens of homes were damaged. A peaceful suburb turned into a disaster zone in seconds.
Investigations are ongoing. Early reports suggest excavation work may have been carried out near a fenced-off pipeline. There’s dashcam footage.
Contractors are being questioned. But this isn’t just about a single contractor or a single street — it’s about how we manage risk in plain sight and how dangerously normalised that risk has become.
We’ve normalised a culture of post-mortem governance — where enforcement only kicks in after something explodes, floods, or fails.
Having guidelines isn’t the problem. Making sure they’re followed — consistently, visibly, and without shortcuts — is where we keep falling short.
This isn’t a problem of policy. It’s a problem of execution. Of oversight that’s too easily outsourced, diluted, or ignored. And let’s be honest — “it could have been worse” is not a recovery plan. It’s a warning we shouldn’t still need.
Beyond the structural damage, we must confront what comes next: the public health aftermath. Smoke inhalation and heat exposure don’t just disappear.
Symptoms can emerge hours or days later — breathlessness, fatigue, confusion. Children, the elderly, and people with respiratory or heart conditions are especially at risk.
We need follow-up clinics, not just fire trucks. Multilingual health alerts, not just press statements. Mobile mental health support for those who fled their homes in fear.
Emergency response doesn’t end when the fire is out — it ends when people are safe, physically and mentally.
And yet, even as systems faltered, society held firm. A Hindu temple became a treatment centre. A mosque opened its doors to anyone in need.
Volunteers arrived with food, blankets, and care. No race boxes, no religious conditions — just help, as it should be.
This is the Malaysia that emerges when no one is performing, when the cameras are still packing up. And it stands in direct contrast to those who spend their careers stoking division in the name of religion or race. Take notes: This is what faith looks like when it grows up.
To the victims — who should’ve been enjoying open houses, not sleeping in evacuation centres — we owe more than compensation. We owe action.
To the first responders — your discipline and speed kept this from becoming a national tragedy. Thank you.
And to the rest of us — we can’t afford to treat safety like an afterthought anymore.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin. When the ground gives way, let’s not just rebuild structures — but standards.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist
KUALA LUMPUR: The massive fire in Putra Heights underscores the urgent need to reassess the safety of urban development in high-risk areas, especially those near gas pipelines and flammable materials, say experts.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Dr Gobi Krishna Sinniah said the government should review high-risk areas and gazette utility reserves as a top risk zone.
“Although explosions rarely occur in residential and commercial areas, they remain a high-risk threat that requires immediate action from the relevant authorities, including the government.
“Developments near corridors or routes of these gas pipelines will inevitably impact the public. Residential or high-density developments should have been identified as high-risk areas, and early preventive measures should also be reassessed,” said the senior lecturer at the Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying.
He noted that similar fire incidents have occurred several times in Malaysia, such as in the Kerteh Industrial Area in Terengganu last year, an oil refinery in Pengerang, Johor (2022) and another in Port Dickson, Negri Sembilan (2020), although these did not involve rapidly developing areas.
Gobi Krishna believes that a review of residential and commercial development in utility reserve areas should be conducted, taking into account environmental and social factors, as well as a more in-depth risk assessment.
“The authorities need to look not only at the impact of development but also at what will happen to the utility if the development proceeds. I believe our perspective needs to shift in that direction,” he told Bernama.
Institution of Engineers Malaysia president Prof Dr Jeffrey Chiang Choong Luin said the government and local authorities must also enhance awareness and training among developers, engineers and contractors, particularly in the use of digital mapping technology and geographic information system to identify and safeguard utility reserve areas.
“Local authorities must also ensure every development application or excavation work near utilities undergoes a comprehensive safety impact assessment before approval.
“They should also increase the frequency of monitoring and safety audits at construction sites to ensure compliance with safety guidelines,” he said.