High-risk areas cover a wide range of locations that may pose safety threats to residents. These include neighbourhoods prone to flooding, hillside developments vulnerable to landslides, and areas built on limestone formations that may experience sinkholes.

Other risky locations include developments near geological fault lines, unstable soil conditions, gas pipelines, electrical substations, reservoirs, industrial facilities, or chemical plants, Chang said.

He said properties located along forest fringes also face heightened fire risks, while homes built beneath or near high-voltage transmission lines raise additional safety concerns.

"Despite these very real dangers, most buyers are not genuinely aware that they are purchasing property within such zones. Take hillside developments as an example. Homeowners are never issued a certificate confirming that a slope is safe both in its design and its final construction. Instead, they are expected to rely on the fact that approvals were granted by professionals and authorities," Chang said.

He explained that to the untrained eye, a reinforced slope may appear stable, even though structural weaknesses may only become apparent when failure occurs.

"Residential safety is not a luxury and should never be treated as optional. It is a non-negotiable right. Until transparency, enforcement, and accountability become standard practice, many Malaysians will continue living on the edge, often without realising just how close they are to falling," Chang said.

Lessons from Highland Towers tragedy

Chang said Malaysia should have learned critical lessons from the Highland Towers collapse in 1992, which claimed 48 lives following a landslide caused by heavy rainfall, poor drainage and flawed design.

"34 years ago, 48 lives were lost due to a landslide caused by heavy rainfall, poor drainage, and fundamental design failures. Yet, even decades later, there remains no genuine sense of closure or accountability. More troubling is the fact that Highland Towers was not an isolated incident," he said.

He added that similar warnings have surfaced repeatedly across the country, citing slope failures in Ampang's Taman Bukit Permai and recurrent flooding in Shah Alam's Taman Sri Muda.

"Cameron Highlands has suffered destructive mudflows driven by unchecked overdevelopment, while rapid urbanisation over limestone formations in Puchong and Rawang has resulted in sinkholes. Each of these incidents tells the same story: approvals were granted, early warnings were ignored, and ordinary residents ultimately paid the price."

Stronger hillside development rules urged to prevent future disasters

Chang said that more than a decade ago, at a national slope management seminar attended by senior government officials, engineers and planners, crucial points were raised.

"These included strengthening and streamlining guidelines for hillside developments, mandating the appointment of independent and accredited geotechnical checkers, and imposing stricter penalties on negligent developers and slope owners. Participants also agreed on the need to develop comprehensive slope inventories, formally gazette them under existing laws, and ensure slope designs are assessed holistically rather than on a project-by-project basis.

"Major earthworks and slope stabilisation works were meant to be completed before construction begins, followed by regular professional inspections of high-risk slopes. Other recommendations included maintenance manuals for engineered slopes, community monitoring groups working together with local authorities, and the establishment of a centralised geotechnical body similar to Hong Kong's system. Unfortunately, the implementation of many of these measures has remained weak."

To prevent future disasters, Chang stressed the need for stronger oversight and enforcement. This includes stricter hill-site development guidelines, mandatory involvement of independent geotechnical experts, and stronger penalties for negligent developers and slope owners.

He also called for greater transparency in environmental, social and traffic impact assessments, which are typically submitted only to local authorities and not disclosed to buyers.

Shared responsibility for housing safety

Chang said that residential safety must be treated as a collective responsibility. Developers must conduct thorough ground investigations and implement proper mitigation measures before construction begins. At the same time, local councils (PBTs) must be willing to reject unsafe development proposals outright instead of approving them with conditions that are rarely enforced.

"Government agencies should disclose risk maps transparently so that buyers can make informed decisions. At the same time, residents and prospective homeowners must be empowered with accurate information and encouraged to walk away from developments that are visually appealing but structurally dangerous. Future buyers need to recognise that some projects are nothing more than beautiful disasters waiting to happen," he said.

Limited access to impact assessments

Chang pointed out a major weakness in the current system, which is the limited accessibility of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), Social Impact Assessments (SIA), and Traffic Impact Assessments (TIA). These documents are usually submitted only to local authorities and are not made available to homebuyers, even though they directly affect both safety and long-term financial security.

Adding to the concern, he said that many of these assessments are commissioned by developers themselves, raising questions about independence and potential bias.

"There have been cases where traffic impact studies concluded that congestion would not occur in areas already infamous for severe gridlock. Yet when disasters strike, authorities are quick to shift blame onto buyers, arguing that consumer demand fuels risky development. This argument is deeply unfair. Buyers have a fundamental right to expect safe and sound construction, regardless of where a property is located."

Accountability still lacking

While there have been efforts to address these issues, progress has been uneven, Loong said, adding that measures such as mandatory risk disclosures, stricter enforcement, early warning systems, periodic inspections, insurance mechanisms, and climate-resilient planning are widely discussed but not consistently implemented.

However, persistent legal and regulatory failures continue to undermine real progress. These failures include poor monitoring by local authorities, weak enforcement of slope and drainage master plans, inconsistent application of the Uniform Building By-Laws and planning laws, and developments being approved without robust or truly independent impact assessments.

"Until accountability becomes real rather than theoretical, collaboration alone will never be enough," Chang said.

He said practical measures such as structured safety briefings or formal checklists during property handovers could significantly reduce risks for buyers, but such safeguards are largely absent today.

Chang added that homebuyers should reasonably expect clear information on whether a property complies with planning regulations, whether it is located within a designated risk zone, what mitigation works have been carried out, why insurers may refuse coverage, and whether there have been past incidents in the area.

"Without mandatory disclosure, buyers remain dangerously exposed. Purchasing the wrong house in the wrong location can leave homeowners financially vulnerable long before their mortgage is fully paid off," he said.