Petronas must be held responsible for losses in Putra Heights fire

Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin wants national oil company to be held responsible for the losses in the Putra Heights as she disagreed with Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan who dismissed negligence as a factor.

“While I agree with Datuk Hussein that there appears to be no sabotage or criminal intent, I respectfully disagree that negligence was absent.

“As the owner of the pipeline, Petronas should have ensured that all their assets were maintained in proper condition.

“Underground conditions should not be an excuse for a large-scale structural failure of this magnitude.”

“Therefore, Petronas must take full responsibility for the losses caused by the Putra Heights fire,” Yeo said in a statement.

The gas pipeline in Putra Heights exploded with flames as high as 30 metres on April 1.

Yesterday the final report into the explosion was made public. The report revealed that ground instability led to the explosion.

Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the state government will formulate long term strategies and new regulation to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

Yeo meanwhile urged Petronas to provide full compensation to the victims.

She also demanded Petronas to conduct comprehensive structural assessments.

“Petronas must immediately conduct comprehensive structural assessments of the entire 2,623 km Peninsular gas pipeline network to ensure such incidents never occur again,” she said.