KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 12 ― The Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) only plans to beautify the site of the collapsed Highland Towers condominium and turn it into an historical site, said its Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

She said the ministry did not plan to build a memorial at the site as reported by the media.

"The plan to beautify the place is as a remembrance of the tragic incident which killed 48 residents on December 11, 1993,” she said in a statement last night.

Zuraida said the Highland Towers area needed to be given a new lease of life as it had caused a feeling of uneasiness among the local community due to the social problems that occurred there.

She said the demolition of the collapsed building, which had been left neglected for the last 27 years, and turning it into an historical site would also ensure the well-being of the residents in the area.

The media had previously reported that the KPKT planned to build a memorial at the site of the collapsed Highland Towers condominium.

The Highland Towers tragedy had shocked the whole country when Block 1 of the condominium, located at Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, collapsed at 1.35pm on December 11, 1993. ― Bernama