BATANG KALI: The Father's Organic Farm campsite, where a landslide occurred this morning, has been operating without a licence.
Local Government Development Minister Nga Kor Ming said a check revealed that the farm only had permission to operate as an organic farm, which was approved by the Hulu Selangor Municipal Council in 2019.
He said no application for the campsite was made.
"Upon checking, we found that the campsite was operating without a licence.
"If found guilty by the court, there will be a penalty of not more than RM50,000 and imprisonment of not more than three years under Act 133 (The Street, Drainage, and Buildings Act 1974)," he said when met at the site of the incident here today.
To prevent a similar incident from recurring, he had instructed all 155 local councils nationwide to check and vacate campsites along and around high-risk areas, including waterfalls, near riverbanks and hillslopes for seven days effective immediately. He later said the directive will remain until further notice.
"This is following the forecast of continuous heavy rain for five days due to the Northeast Monsoon, which is expected to start tomorrow."
Nga said operators who wanted to organise camping activities in risky areas should seek advice from the Minerals and Geoscience Department.
On the search-and-rescue (SAR) operation, Nga said rescue teams entered the site at the earliest possible moment after they received information on the incident.
"We have deployed 628 men from 27 agencies. Of these, 210 are from the Fire and Rescue Department and 231 from the SAR team.
"Up to 1pm today, there are 94 victims of this landslide incident, 61 of whom are safe, 16 dead and 17 still missing."