KUALA LUMPUR: Gas pipeline safety is a shared responsibility across all levels of government, with cooperation between federal, state and local authorities key to preventing leaks or fires, says the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
The ministry said such cooperation is essential to safeguard communities, especially where developments are near high-risk infrastructure such as Petronas gas pipelines.
“Risks related to gas pipeline alignments can only be effectively addressed through holistic, strategic cooperation between agencies, as practiced by various ministries including us,” the ministry said in a parliamentary written reply dated August 27.
“This comprehensive approach is crucial to protecting public safety and guaranteeing the well-being and peace of local communities,” it said.
The ministry said it is working closely with agencies like PETRONAS, the Energy Commission, and the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) to refine safety standards and emergency procedures for developments near high-risk infrastructure.
Regarding local authorities, the ministry stated that these bodies are responsible for approving developers’ layout and utility plans to grant planning permission.
It said that such bodies must obtain technical input and certification from relevant agencies, including road authorities and utility service providers, to ensure compliance with laws and guidelines before approving such plans.
“It is the responsibility of local authorities, when processing planning permission, to ensure proposed developments are consistent with land-use zoning and comply with all required technical planning standards.
These bodies must also ensure that proposed infrastructure and public utilities provision is comprehensive and sufficient, prioritising risk impact and mitigation measures to safeguard public interests and safety.
This includes the provision of utilities such as gas supply, electricity, clean water, and fast communication access,” the ministry said.
The ministry said it has strengthened these approval processes by introducing the OSC 3.0 Plus Manual, which includes Gas Malaysia and Petronas Gas Berhad as External Technical Agencies.
Their role is to provide expert review of projects that may pose risks to high-pressure pipelines and related utilities, ensuring approved developments are safer, more integrated and sustainable.
The ministry was responding to Azli Yusof (PH–Shah Alam) on improvements to the KM approval process to reduce the potential impact of developments on PETRONAS gas pipelines and prevent future leaks or fires.
