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.

“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.

PAS menuntut agar laporan awal mengenai kebakaran saluran paip gas Petronas di Putra Heights, yang dijadualkan hari ini, diumumkan secara telus dan boleh diakses kepada semua.

“Hari ini, seluruh negara menunggu laporan itu bukan semata-mata untuk mengetahui berapa panjang paip yang terbakar, atau berapa suhu api ketika ia meletup,” kata Ketua Penerangan PAS Ahmad Fadhli Shaari.

Menerusi satu hantaran di Facebook, dia berkata, rakyat menantikan jawapan sama ada sistem pemantauan berfungsi, siapa yang sepatutnya mengambil tindakan awal, siapa yang mengabaikan isyarat bahaya, dan paling penting, siapa yang seharisnya bertanggungjawab terhadap maapetaka itu.

Fadhli menegaskan, bagi merawat kepercayaan rakyat yang luka parah terhadap pihak berkuasa, ketelusan adalah penting.

Selain mengumumkan laporan itu, katanya, mereka yang bertanggungjawab mesti dinamakan dan dikenakan tindakan disiplin atau perundangan.

Dia juga mahu audit menyeluruh terhadap semua saluran paip gas di kawasan penempatan dimulakan serta-merta.

“Sistem aduan penduduk perlu diperkasa dan dijadikan indikator awal dalam sebarang pelan mitigasi risiko,” katanya.

Kebimbangan lain yang dibangkitkan oleh Fadhli ialah aktiviti pembinaan dan pembangunan yang berterusan berhampiran lokasi letupan saluran paip gas itu, yang telah mencetuskan kegelisahan orang ramai.

Merujuk maklumat yang tersebar di media sosial, dia menyatakan bahawa terdapat pelbagai aktiviti pembinaan, termasuk kerja tanah dan projek infrastruktur utiliti, dijalankan hanya beberapa meter dari laluan saluran paip gas tersebut.

“Persoalannya - adakah kerja-kerja itu dijalankan dengan pematuhan penuh kepada pelan utiliti bawah tanah yang telah diluluskan?

“Dalam bidang kejuruteraan utiliti, Utility Detection Survey (UDS) dan Utility Mapping with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) adalah keperluan asas sebelum kerja pengorekan (excavation) dijalankan di kawasan yang berpotensi mengandungi saluran gas atau kabel voltan tinggi.

“Jika pihak kontraktor pembinaan gagal melakukan verifikasi ini secara menyeluruh, risiko ‘third-party interference’ atau gangguan pihak ketiga kepada struktur paip gas akan meningkat - dan ini merupakan salah satu punca utama kebocoran atau kegagalan saluran paip dalam kes-kes global sebelum ini,” katanya lagi.

Fadhli seterusnya menegaskan kegagalan menjalankan Penilaian Risiko Pra-Pembinaan (PCRA) bagi kawasan yang menjadi laluan paip tekanan tinggi adalah satu pengabaian profesional yang serius.

Semalam, Menteri Besar Selangor Amirudin Shari menyatakan bahawa ketua polis negeri Hussein Omar Khan akan membentangkan maklumat terkini mengenai siasatan itu, yang akan merangkumi kedua-dua punca teknikal dan kemungkinan kecuaian atau faktor jenayah lain yang terlibat.

Siasatan teknikal itu diketuai oleh beberapa agensi termasuk Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR), Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan, Petronas dan badan teknikal lain, manakala polis sedang menyiasat kemungkinan tindakan jenayah atau kecuaian.

Amirudin berkata, pasukan penyiasat juga akan meneliti video tular di media sosial mengenai kebakaran tersebut. Jika perlu, katanya, pihak berkuasa akan menghubungi individu yang menyiarkan video berkenaan untuk pengesahan lanjut.