KOLEJ KEMAHIRAN TINGGI MARA LEDANG

JOHOR

Program: Diploma in Biomedical Electronics Engineering (Diagnostic 2B)

Course: English for Career Development

Course Code: DUE10062

Session: May - December 2021

Lecturer’s Name: Theresa Marion A/P B Nambirajan

Assignment: Collapse of Highland Condominium

Group Members:

Muhammad Khairul Fikri Bin Md Ishak

Muhamad Hanif Bin Alias

Nur Atiqahshazwani Binti Rosmadiy Yusma

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 Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction .........................................................................................................3

2.0 Method of Gathering Information ..........................................................................5

3.0 Finding / Discussion .............................................................................................6

4.0 Conclusion .........................................................................................................11

5.0 Individual Reflection ...........................................................................................12

5.1 Member 1 (Nur Atiqah) ................................................................................12

5.2 Member 2 (Khairul Fikri) ..............................................................................14

5.3 Member 3 (Hanif) ........................................................................................15

6.0 References ........................................................................................................17

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1.0 Introduction\

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this report is to discuss disasters that have occurred in Malaysia and
investigate the reason behind the Collapse of the Highland Tower Condominium.

1.2 Background

The purpose of this report is to discuss disasters that have occurred in Malaysia and
investigate the reason behind the Collapse of the Highland Tower Condominium. The
Highland Towers tragedy was one of the most tragic tragedies in Malaysia. It is the
first case that involved high story apartments collapse. The Ulu Klang area has
experienced several serious landslides since December 1993, when a Block of
Highland Towers collapsed, causing a tragedy involving 48 deaths. Highland Tower
consisted of three 12-story blocks of apartment known as Blocks 1, 2 and 3. It was
constructed between 1975 and 1978. Directly behind the three blocks was a steep
slope. A stream originating upslopes from the Metrolux land land flowed across part of
the slope.

The Highland Tower was once notorious in the 1980s and early 1990s for being a
popular spot for the wealthy people. One of the major causes of landslides was
improper soil testing. The peripheral conditions of the site resulted in undermining. The
failure of retaining walls under heavy rains was a contributing factor, causing a
landslide that led to the building’s collapse. Regarding this landslide the most authentic
report has been produced by Ampang Jaya Town Council that (MPAJ, 1994) Highland
Tower collapse main cause is inadequate drainage. From another aspect, design
deficiencies are also found. The report has (MPAJ, 1994) following concluded factors
responsible for this landslide.

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1.3 Method of Investigation

Questionnaires were issued to Aini and Fakhru’l-Razi the collapse of Block 1 of

Highland Towers Condominium could also be avoided if the authority and the owner
investigated incidences of flooding and mudflow prior to the disaster. Heavy rain on
December 11,1993 had caused retrogressive landslides behind Block 1, which
consequently induced the instability of the rail pile foundation, which was not designed
for lateral loading. Inadequate provision of drainage and lack of maintenance of drains
aggravated the friable nature of the slope materials, which increased surface runoff
and infiltration rate that finally triggered a series of landslides

1.4 Scope

The accident by the construction of the Bukit Antarabangsa Development

Project began on the hilltop behind Highland Towers in 1991. Due to the clearing of
trees and land-covering plants on the hill, the soil became susceptible to land erosion.
In December 1993, the area experienced a prolonged period of heavy rainfall, which
caused the soil to become muddy, and shortly after, water was observed flowing down
the slope of the hill. After a prolonged period of heavy rainfall, a landslide began, which
destroyed the retaining wall behind the first block's car park.

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2.0 Method of Gathering Information

A variety of sources is one of the methods of gathering information. Most of

the information that we have collected was from internet searching. The methods for
obtaining information might include storytelling, responses to questions. It generates
current information and facts-finding about t the incident like Highland Towers tragedy
which was fatal and deadly. Subsequently, we also read some journals about the
tragedy of our topic assignment. For authors to publish academic journals online, they
are required to verify their information sources through links and citations. Mere
personal opinions without proper, factual backup are not admissible. This makes
online academic journals entirely credible and authoritative because we can verify the
facts from their sources. Lastly, watching YouTube also helped us to find video
materials such as documentaries.

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3.0 Findings

The event of where Highland Towers collapsed on 12th December 1993

caused a commotion among Malaysians since it was considered as one of the most
fatal incidents for that particular year. As for the chronology of this incident, it first
started with certain signs such as the bursting of pipe and it caused the water to flow
down the hill slopes. In November 1993, there was a crack that begun to form, and it
had widened on the road until tiled to the Highland Towers. It all happened on
December 1993, at Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor and the day was begun with
the collapse of Block 1 around 1.35 p.m. due to the landslide from the uphill
development after raining heavily for 10 days. There were around 124 members of the
Federal Preserve Unit (FRU) and around 30 military personnel and engineers from
Batu Cantonment Camp and also Wardieburn Camp were deployed to search and
rescue all the victims involved.

The tragedy happened due to a sudden landslide after raining heavily for 10
days and that was influenced by the bursting of the pipe that eventually caused the

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soil around the area to be washed away. The pipes were initially used to divert the
water that flowed onto the stream. Another caused of this tragedy is the poor and
improper drainage facility provided for the blocks. There was also an inconsistency
regarding the Land Conservation Act with Environment Quality Act 1974. It has also
been confirmed that the rubble walls around Block1 that were administered poorly had
been proven to have an inadequate design. The rubble wall had no additional support
and the was no resistance of the wall itself. The building had become more fragile as
the building’s burden increased. The increment of the building’s burden has caused
the apartment to be more unstable and it had created a very high pressure on the pile
of the buildings. In addition, the developments which takes place at Hill International
has caused the mud flood due to clearing plants around those area and the mud flood
has caused the road around apartment cracked.

This incident led to soil erosions on the hill slope and caused the structure of
the soil became weak until it led to the landslides. The water that was flowing over the
soil surrounded the towers had influenced the soil erosion to occur which then caused
the slope to become weaker until the landslide happened. The geological condition
and the types off the soil also encourage the landslide to occur because the geologist
from National University of Malaysia (UKM) stated that the soil was mixed with the
sand, and it showed that the soil was not that strong. Other than that, the designs of
the slope and the rubble walls at Block 1 were found to be improperly designed by the
architect, Wong Tin Sang. Wong Tin Sang was found of not having the qualification to
design the building which is more than 2 level. In additional, there was a piling up
behind the Block 1 which later caused an increment of the lateral pressure to the
building’s foundation. This further influenced the collapse of rubble walls which then
followed by the collapse of the building.

The tragedy has taken around 48 lives including the former deputy prime
minister, Datuk Musa Hitam’s son and wife. The victims are mainly Malaysians
including 12 foreigner and the tragedy has caused loss of property that worth millions
of ringgits. The search and rescue mission started right after the collapse occur and

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the incident had been responded by particular parties and it was done as quick as
possible. It has been responded by 124 members of FRU, 30 military personnel and
engineers that came from Batu Cantonment Camp and also Wardieburn camp. There
were also hundreds of policemen and firemen together with the rescue teams from
Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) that arrived on that particular place where the scene had
taken place. The rescue team had found three victims that are still alive on that day
which are Umi Rashidah, 22 and her daughter Nur Hamidah, 18 months and Shizue
Nakajima, 50 but Shizue was pronounced dead in Hospital Kuala Lumpur due to
severe internal bleeding and injuries. On 17th December, the cabinet committee had
been decided to stop the rescue efforts and starts the search of the dead. The search
and rescue teams from other countries like Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom and
the United States also came to help the rescue and search mission. The search was
continued until on 21 December, the police confirms that 48 bodies were recovered at
Highland Tower and the search was ended on 22 December.

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 The tragedy had caused the acts of environment to be reviewed by the
authority and the damage done to the environment has seriously caused some effect
to the affected areas. There was a decrement to the demands of having a house on 8
the hillsides. After the tower 1 has collapsed, all of the residents in block 2 and block
3 had been evacuated for safety purposes. There were some plans made to repair the
buildings of remaining Blocks 2 and 3 in 1995 but the blocks were no longer structurally
safe as the other two building may also collapse at any time. Due to that, the entire
site was abandoned as the residents were required to move out from there.

Furthermore, there was an appointment for the chairman of the Technical

Committee to investigate the tragedy and the chairman was Dr Nik Hassan Nik
Ramlan on 22nd December1993. MPAJ was given an authorization to set up a
particular investigate body. Any of the building projects that were to be done on the
hillsides were abruptly stopped by the Cabinet until a new policy to be approved. All
the buildings that had more than 5 store high and were placed on the hillsides were
asked to get a verification from a qualified consultant regarding the stability and the
safety of the building. The formulation of a policy that was related to the development
in highlands were announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and it was to be done by
the Federal Government as to prevent further incidents like Highland Towers. It also
has been decided that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is needed if there
were to be any development project that is to be done on the highlands to render the
decision.

The event was preventable because there could be some measurements

taken to repair the defects that were there before the incident took place. It has been
found out that the drainage system was built imperfectly. The drainage system was
not a complete drainage system and there were some defects to design of the
drainage system per se. Besides, the construction of the building at the hillside should
be revise carefully before it had been approved. This is because, a lot of things should
be considered especially due to safety reasons to do a construction at hillside.
Furthermore, the developer of the buildings could have chosen the employees who

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have the credibility and who are qualified to design the buildings. Lastly, the developer
for Bukit Antarabangsa development should not have cutdown the trees surrounded
the hills to prevent further erosion of the soil.

Based on Highland Tower Tragedy, the worst thing that could have happened
is that all the blocks 2 and 3 also collapsed just like what happened to block 1. In 1993,
blocks 2 and3 were evacuated hence majority of the victims were from block 1. If
blocks 2 and 3 collapsed, most probably all the residents would have died or suffered
from severe injuries. Next, what could have been worst is that the collapse could have
affected the houses and buildings around that area which would cause more deaths.
This would lead to the possibilities of decreasing demands over residential on hillsides.
After the accident, most of the residents around that area moved out from their houses
due to feeling unsafe. These tragedies could have been prevented as Blocks 2 and 3
were located away from the hills, where the landslide came from. Furthermore, the
residents from blocks 2 and 3 were quickly evacuated to safer place as they witnessed
the falling of block 1. The houses and buildings around that area were also safe as
everyone from rescue team took immediate action to prevent the worst from
happening.

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4.0 Conclusion

To conclude, Highland Tower Tragedy had given such a huge impact towards
the society in Malaysia. To avoid similar tragedy from reoccurring, every party involved,
either directly or indirectly should take deep lessons by analysing the incident in detail
and make improvements, earlier preparation, and prevention steps. Going through the
details of the event, it is proved that the major cause of the landslide is due to the
haphazardous planning in the construction of the buildings such as the building’s
structural failure. In addition, it is also implied that neglection of the safety laws enacted
could lead to serious accident and in worser cases, would even lead to deaths of
innocent people. Thus, prompt actions should be taken regarding to this issue.

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5.0 Individual Reflection

5.1 Nur Atiqahshazwani Binti Rosmadiy Yusma

As I learn more about the incident like Highland Towers tragedy, which was
fatal and deadly, the report helps me to study and have a better understanding about
the causes and the consequences of the tragedy of Highland Towers. This report
generally touches specific important topics such as the specific details of the tragedy
that took place. Besides, it also highlights the consequences that affect the
surroundings and the people that used to be the residents of the buildings.

Our group consisted of 3 members. As we did not know each other that well
in the beginning one of the hardest tasks was to estimate how everyone’s attitude
towards working in a team was like and how much effort every single member going
to put in our assignment. My role was to clarify what we were going to do. The division
of the assignment itself went well, as everyone agreed on what they would have to do.
We clarified what was not clear and my team member started working on the task.
Communication was limited to moderate in the group. In the very beginning, we
created a WhatsApp Group to have a fast and easy way to communicate, as everyone
is reachable on their mobile phone almost constantly. Expect if it is about setting a
date and time for the team meeting. Our group members trust one another enough to
share their ideas and feelings. A sense of mutual trust develops only to the extent that
everyone is willing to self-disclose and be honest yet respectful

In general, I like teamwork if it is functioning as it is supposed to be, every

team member is prepared, knows beforehand what task we must fulfill, and prepares
on their part satisfyingly. Hence, trust and confidence are established, and the
collaboration is working out. Concerning the fact, that we know each other already and
I have developed a feeling of how every team member is performing individually and
in team, I would work with the same team again. Nevertheless, I would opt for a change
regarding my role, the coordination of the whole group, and time management.

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Beginning with my role as a team member, I would take over the responsibility
concerning coordination, design, and time management.

In conclusion, Time is important when making up teams in order for team

members to become use to working together and making appropriate decisions to
accomplish the common goals set. Teams have assisted organizations when times
change in order to keep up with competition and show positive results.

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5.2 Muhammad Khairul Fikri Bin Md Ishak

For my reflection that I have made a report on the natural disaster the occurred
in Malaysia is the occurrence of the collapse of the Highland Tower building caused
by landslide. I was able to find out what caused the collapse of the building. The thing
I have learned from this highland tower collapse natural disaster task is the unstable
soil structure factor and the non -strategic construction of the highland tower. In
addition, the level of soil moisture, the balance of fluid content in the soil is also a plan
that should be studied before doing construction.

Incomplete drainage system and drainage system that is not operated

systematically in the construction area have also been the main cause of the collapse
of the building. In addition, the process of cleaning by cutting down trees involving part
of the area there caused it to form a drainage target from the top of the hill directly to
the nearby area and the apartment. Therefore, each system must be emphasized so
that there will be no more natural disaster accidents like before. After a few days of
struggling to find information to complete this task with my friend, we all always
exchanged opinions after receiving the assignment from the lecturer. We are always
in touch and helping each other to provide more innovative and accurate reports to
reinforce all the information we have. I am so thankful to have team members who
work together with each other. Despite having misunderstandings, we still do it
regularly so that there are no fights.

In conclusion, the collapse of this highland tower has taught us many lessons
unknowingly. We must think that everything that happens is due to natural causes but
we don’t realize that staff or contractor mistakes are also one of the causes of the
causes of this collapse happening. In the end I hope that this accident will not happen
again because it has claimed the lives of many innocent people. It has also affected
the country’s economy from becoming more developed.

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5.3 Muhamad Hanif Bin Alias

What I can learn about the Genting Highland collapsed is the importance of
responsibility in doing something. This is because this collapsed is not due to natural
disasters which is continuous rain for 2 weeks, continuous rain is a side cause and the
main cause of this incident is due to the negligence of the employer who built this
building. This is because the land or construction site selected is not suitable to be
used as a construction site due to the soil being exposed to soil erosion as a result of
logging trees and plants that cover the soil on slopes. so, when it rained continuously
for 2 weeks, it turned the soil into mud causing the surface of the building to be
unstable and the building collapsed. based on the tragedy, we can assume that
developers appointing inexperienced contractors and not adhering to conditions of
approval by local councils. The developers need to appointing experienced contractor
because the construction project cannot have errors either in terms of construction
site, materials used and so on. this is because if there are errors in the building and
cause collapse and so on, this will cause the death of residents or the building.
experienced is very important to avoid mistakes that can take the lives of the
occupants or the building.

This tragedy made me realize that responsibility is very important in doing

things. As a student, I get a lot of group assignments so each group member is
responsible for completing the tasks that have been divided so as not to bother other
friends. In group work, cooperation should be emphasized so that each task done
together can be completed on time and perfectly as instructed by the lecturer.
communication is also a major aspect that needs to be emphasized in group work so
that there is no misunderstanding in completing the task while avoiding any fights with
each other. during the 6 months I studied online, the lecturers gave many assignments
in groups and I have worked with all my classmates and I am grateful they have the
character as I listed above so the assignments can be completed perfectly without any
misunderstandings and I am very comfortable completing assignments with them.

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 In conclusion, responsibility must be in a person no matter as a student or who
is already working. This is because the nature of responsibility can guarantee a person
to complete a task perfectly without any problems as happened in the tragedy of the
collapse of Genting Highland that occurred due to the negligence of the employer in
choosing a construction site as well as choosing an inexperienced contractor

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References

1. Sadaf Qasim (2017, October) Landslide of Highland Towers 1993: a case study
of Malaysia Article. DOI 10.1007/s41062-017-0069-4

2. Fahad Ali Gul (2017, October) Highland Towers Collapsed”, The Tragic Story
of Malaysia! International Journal for Research in Social Science and
Humanities.

3. Astro Awani (2020, December) The Highland Towers tragedy, 27 years on.

4. MPAJ (1994) Report of the inquiry committee into the collapse of block 1 and
the stability of blocks 2 and 3 Highland Towers Condominium, Hulu Klang,
Selangor Darul Ehsan.

5. Maverick S (2006) Highland Tower Tragedy. http://con

structionrisk.blogspot.com/2006/02

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