KUALA LUMPUR – Tun Musa Hitam, whose son and daughter-in-law died in the Highland Towers tragedy 27 years ago, said any memorial erected in remembrance of the incident should serve as a reminder of the “wrongdoings of humans”.
The former deputy prime minister said he welcomed news of a proposal to set up a memorial dedicated to the 48 residents killed when the 12-storey condominium block collapsed.
Musa’s son, Carlos Rashid, and daughter-in-law, Rosina Abu Bakar, were in their unit when the building, located in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, was hit by a massive landslide on December 11, 1993.
“To me, if the memorial does get implemented, it needs to remind us all that it represents the wrongdoings of humans,” he said in a statement yesterday.
“Masked by development, modernisation and progress, humans got lost in corruption.
“Corruption based on greed and material needs, without absolutely considering the negative effects to society at large.”
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin, in a statement on Friday, said the government only plans to beautify the area in remembrance of the victims, and turn it into a historical site.
She said the ministry does not plan to build a memorial, as reported in the news.
The area needs to be given a new lease of life, she said, as social problems there have caused unease among the local community.
Musa, welcoming the idea of a memorial, said: “As the parent of our son, together with his beloved wife, I welcome the news of a proposal to erect a memorial dedicated to this tragedy in our history.” – The Vibes, December 13, 2020
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