JUNE 10 — The quality of public works has been gradually declining and, thus, it was not surprising when we heard about the collapse of a section of the ramp connecting the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway to the Second Penang bridge in Batu Maung.
It is not new to find flaws in public works and the lack of an accountability system. The problem is, public projects are issued based on political considerations rather than ability.
Human errors could be found in almost all government projects, including state government buildings, including the collapse of Perak State Park Corporation’s two-storey administrative building near Tasik Banding in 2007; government agency buildings, the Matrade building had been completed nine years late; general hospitals, Hospital Sultan Ismail was infested with deadly fungus; stadiums, the roof of Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium had collapsed twice; flyovers, cracks were found on the pillars and beams at the Kepong MRR2 flyover; and mosques, the roof of a mosque in Terengganu collapsed after it was opened for the public for five years.
It would be a long list if we point out one-by-one the delayed, cost-overrun and high-cost government projects. And sick projects can be seen everywhere.
It is indeed puzzling why flaws in government projects are unstoppable.
Many government projects are issued to some contractors with political backgrounds without going through public tender. Even if there is something wrong with the project, the authorities would just pay to clean up the mess.
Take the roof collapse of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium as an example; its sub-contractor was ordered to pay a fine of RM10,000 for carrying out construction work without being registered with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), while internal actions was take against the main contractor.
There is indeed a huge distance between the RM10,000 fine and RM292 million cost of the stadium roof, as well as the RM15 million cost of repair works.
Ironically, the roof of the stadium collapsed again in February this year during re-construction works, injuring five workers.
No severe punishment was imposed on the involved contractors while the responsible units have not performed their supervision task seriously, pulling down the construction standard of public projects.
It was said that the collapse of the ramp in Penang was due to scaffold failure. The weight of the bridge deck and whether the scaffold is able to support it can all be estimated. Therefore, if scaffold failure is really the cause of the collapse, there will be no way for the contractor to escape the blame.
The incident this time has claimed a motorist’s life. Who will be the next victim?
The Works Ministry has set up a separate team of experts to probe the cause of the collapse. However, would legal actions be taken?
To curb sick government projects, the current contract distribution system must be replaced by a performance-based system.
It is related to Umno’s political reform. It must take national interests into account and give up the existing contracting system.
Constant flaws in public works bring a waste of national resources. How could there be no reform since the people are watching? — mysinchew.com
A leaking roof in JPJ wangsa maju
Penang bridge extension collapse,killing one and injuring 3.
A 4.5 billion BN project indeed!
Another collapsing BN project, fortunately no lives were lost..
No comments:
Post a Comment