The Highland Tower case is one of the most well-known tragedies that have ever happened in

Malaysia. After the case was studied, the Court found out that the landslide that brought down Block
1 of the Highland Tower has been a rotational retrogressive slide emanating from a high retaining
wall behind the 2nd tier of a 3-tiered car park serving the 3 blocks of the Highland Towers. Although
the principle factor of the collapse is water which caused the wall to fail in the first place, other
factors that leads to the tragedy simply could not be ignored. The tower was built on the edge of a
steep hill with a stream flowing west and this is actually against the Land Conservation Act 1960
which prohibits any development carried out on hillsides with slopes greater than 18 degrees for
reasons that are connected to the environment. At the beginning of the case, almost all of the
defendants of the case were liable in negligence for failing to ensure that the whole building system
was adequate and for not maintaining the drains and retaining walls that were built.

On February 17, 2006, the apex court made a decision that the local councils cannot be held liable for
losses suffered by anyone should a building collaps, and even though it was reported that AmFinance
agreed to pay RM 52 million to 139 residents, the decision made by the court was simply
inconsiderate because if the authority was to be held liable, it will make sure that none of this will
ever happen again. It is clear that strict regulations are needed for buildings in Malaysia as it could
harm a lot of people if these sorts of tragedy were to happen again in the future. It was confirmed that
the High Court decided that the architects and the engineers involved will have a duty to secure the
safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional services if they were
to be a part of any more projects in the future. It was clear that those who authorized and supervised
the project should be held more accountable for their negligence. Their certificates should be
confiscated and their case should be studied more thoroughly by the court. Building owners should be
cautioned in the future regarding unauthorised renovations or alterations on their properties that may
cause structural deficiencies. They should also be warned to avoid carrying out any structural changes
without first obtaining building approvals, and fulfilling the obligations stipulated in the UBBL and
FSA.

As it was the biggest tragedy in Malaysia at that time, a lot of people donated blood, food, manpower
and even offer their own homes as rescue centres for the residents of the Highland Tower. Donations
came not only from the nation, but from almost every part of the world and in a lot of forms. All of
these acts prove that humanity still exists and people still care about other people. If these sorts of
tragedies were to ever happen again, the federal and state government should make it easier for people
to volunteer and help out because at times like these, it is clear that the victims might need all the help
that they can get. Although the federal government and Selangor state government quickly swung into
action when this disaster strikes, they made it quite difficult for people to volunteer and help out. They
should make it easier and guide the volunteers to make sure that they know what needed to be done.

This tragedy taught our government to be more careful in approving any sort of risky projects in the
future as any irrational and non-tactical decisions made by the authority and the government might
cause tragedies especially if it is regarding a huge project that involves a hundred lives and a lot of
money. The government and big construction companies should also know that money could not
solve everything and that by offering money to the victims or the families of the victims, it will not
heal their trauma. If any disaster were to happen again in the future, the ministry of Health should
consider offering free psychological help to those who survive or the family members of the victims
of any sort of disaster as emotional wounds leaves a huge impact on humans, just like physical
wounds does.

References

The Malaysia Online Legal Resources. The Highland Towers Judgment - Civil Suit No. S5-
21-174-1996, 1 - 12