Kuala Lumpur cancels Merdeka eve celebration out of respect for sinkhole victim; police chief says no need to declare area unsafe

SINGAPORE: Kuala Lumpur City Hall has cancelled its Merdeka Eve celebrations on Friday (Aug 30) out of respect for the woman who fell into a sinkhole on Jalan Masjid India nearly a week ago and is yet to be found.
The celebration, on the eve of Malaysia’s Independence Day, was to be held at Merdeka Square, several hundred metres from the sinkhole site.
Announcing the cancellation on Wednesday night (Aug 28) on social media, Kuala Lumpur City Hall called for unity and urged Malaysians to show patriotism to mark the day.
“Let’s be together – let’s live the meaning of independence with the spirit of patriotism,” it posted on Facebook.
The sinkhole victim, identified as Ms Vijayaletchumy, is a tourist from India who was reportedly on a two-month holiday in Malaysia with her family and was due to return home soon.
She fell into the 8m-deep sinkhole in front of Malayan Mansion on Jalan Masjid India while walking to a nearby temple last Friday morning.
On Thursday, the country’s police chief Razarudin Husain said there is currently no need to declare the Masjid India area unsafe or a disaster zone. This is because the sinkhole incident is “not classified as a disaster”, he explained at a press conference at the Kelantan state contingent police headquarters.
To declare an area unsafe, the police must obtain special permission from the National Security Council, Inspector-General of Police Razarudin said.
“Even though it is not a disaster, the police, Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, DBKL (Kuala Lumpur City Hall), and the Civil Defence Force have performed their duties diligently as if it were, due to the operation control centre being in place,” he added, as reported by national news agency Bernama.