The Straits Times, May 24, 2007
By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent
MAINTENANCE WOES AT MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
PM Abdullah blasts minister even as burst pipe floods new court complex
WHAT NEXT?: Workers at the month-old Kuala Lumpur court complex cleaning up after a burst pipe flooded the cafeteria. Earlier this month, a power failure forced hearings to be suspended.
By Hazlin Hassan, Malaysia Correspondent
MAINTENANCE WOES AT MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
PM Abdullah blasts minister even as burst pipe floods new court complex
WHAT NEXT?: Workers at the month-old Kuala Lumpur court complex cleaning up after a burst pipe flooded the cafeteria. Earlier this month, a power failure forced hearings to be suspended.
Works Minister Samy Vellu
KUALA LUMPUR - BARELY two weeks after Parliament House started leaking, a pipe has burst at the brand-new court complex.
Bernama news agency said the cafeteria in the month-old building here was in ankle- deep water yesterday morning after the pipe burst.
This is the latest in an embarrassing series of problems with Malaysia's public buildings. Earlier this month, the court complex was forced to suspend hearings following a power failure.
Two weeks ago, the roof of Parliament House sprang a serious leak. A few weeks before that, the ceilings of two government buildings in Putrajaya collapsed after pipes burst.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who is on a visit to Tokyo, lambasted government departments for passing the buck over such problems.
Irked by the blame game, he slammed Works Minister Samy Vellu for saying that Parliament House was not the responsibility of the Public Works Department (PWD).
Datuk Seri Samy Vellu had said last Saturday the maintenance was handled by Parliament itself, and the PWD could not interfere as Parliament was independent and could not be ordered around.
He was also quoted in the Nanyang Siang Pau on Monday as saying the PWD could not be responsible for the maintenance of government departments because they had decided to take charge of their own upkeep.
'Many departments now want to do their own maintenance. Why would PWD seek jobs to do?' he said.
Datuk Seri Abdullah said such finger-pointing was shameful and embarrassing.
'It is shameful that government departments have to quarrel over their respective responsibilities.
'Don't wait to be told that is your responsibility. Just do it,' he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
In yesterday's incident at the court complex, gushing water from a neighbouring utility room had lawyers and others in the cafeteria scrambling out in haste as the staff quickly moved the furniture.
PWD director-general Judin Abdul Karim, who rushed to the site, said in a statement later that the pipe burst because one of its parts was not of the correct specification.
It was replaced, and the cafeteria was reopened about two hours later.
Kota Baru MP Zaid Ibrahim believes these recent incidents are just the tip of the iceberg.
'The Prime Minister is understandably upset and angry with the lack of professionalism and utter lack of accountability on the part of many public officials,' he told The Straits Times.
'What the Prime Minister needs to do is to change some of the people responsible for this state of affairs. Only then will they take his warnings seriously.'
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has called for heads to roll over this 'scandal'.
In a statement, he said it was not enough for Datuk Seri Abdullah to merely order the problem to be fixed.
Mr Lim Guan Eng, secretary-general of opposition Democratic Action Party, said this state of affairs did not bode well for Malaysia's competitiveness.
'You must either shape up or ship out,' he said.
He added that he will be handing over a memorandum today to Datuk Seri Abdullah calling for the sacking of Datuk Seri Samy Vellu.
Parti Islam SeMalaysia MP Kamaruddin Jaafar said it was embarrassing for the Prime Minister to have to attend to such matters while on an official visit to Tokyo.
He said there was a serious lack of a maintenance culture, even in the country's administrative capital.
This is not the first time Datuk Seri Samy Vellu has been in the firing line over infrastructure issues.
In 2004, he took a shelling when cracks appeared on a highway flyover. Repairs then cost RM18 million (S$8 million).
However, the fallout from this latest spate of incidents is unlikely to affect his Cabinet post. He holds his position by virtue of being the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a senior member of the Barisan Nasional.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUST DO IT
'It is shameful that government departments have to quarrel over their respective responsibilities. Don't wait to be told that is your responsibility. Just do it.'
DATUK SERI ABDULLAH, criticising Works Minister Samy Vellu for saying Parliament House was not his department's responsibility
KUALA LUMPUR - BARELY two weeks after Parliament House started leaking, a pipe has burst at the brand-new court complex.
Bernama news agency said the cafeteria in the month-old building here was in ankle- deep water yesterday morning after the pipe burst.
This is the latest in an embarrassing series of problems with Malaysia's public buildings. Earlier this month, the court complex was forced to suspend hearings following a power failure.
Two weeks ago, the roof of Parliament House sprang a serious leak. A few weeks before that, the ceilings of two government buildings in Putrajaya collapsed after pipes burst.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, who is on a visit to Tokyo, lambasted government departments for passing the buck over such problems.
Irked by the blame game, he slammed Works Minister Samy Vellu for saying that Parliament House was not the responsibility of the Public Works Department (PWD).
Datuk Seri Samy Vellu had said last Saturday the maintenance was handled by Parliament itself, and the PWD could not interfere as Parliament was independent and could not be ordered around.
He was also quoted in the Nanyang Siang Pau on Monday as saying the PWD could not be responsible for the maintenance of government departments because they had decided to take charge of their own upkeep.
'Many departments now want to do their own maintenance. Why would PWD seek jobs to do?' he said.
Datuk Seri Abdullah said such finger-pointing was shameful and embarrassing.
'It is shameful that government departments have to quarrel over their respective responsibilities.
'Don't wait to be told that is your responsibility. Just do it,' he was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper.
In yesterday's incident at the court complex, gushing water from a neighbouring utility room had lawyers and others in the cafeteria scrambling out in haste as the staff quickly moved the furniture.
PWD director-general Judin Abdul Karim, who rushed to the site, said in a statement later that the pipe burst because one of its parts was not of the correct specification.
It was replaced, and the cafeteria was reopened about two hours later.
Kota Baru MP Zaid Ibrahim believes these recent incidents are just the tip of the iceberg.
'The Prime Minister is understandably upset and angry with the lack of professionalism and utter lack of accountability on the part of many public officials,' he told The Straits Times.
'What the Prime Minister needs to do is to change some of the people responsible for this state of affairs. Only then will they take his warnings seriously.'
Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang has called for heads to roll over this 'scandal'.
In a statement, he said it was not enough for Datuk Seri Abdullah to merely order the problem to be fixed.
Mr Lim Guan Eng, secretary-general of opposition Democratic Action Party, said this state of affairs did not bode well for Malaysia's competitiveness.
'You must either shape up or ship out,' he said.
He added that he will be handing over a memorandum today to Datuk Seri Abdullah calling for the sacking of Datuk Seri Samy Vellu.
Parti Islam SeMalaysia MP Kamaruddin Jaafar said it was embarrassing for the Prime Minister to have to attend to such matters while on an official visit to Tokyo.
He said there was a serious lack of a maintenance culture, even in the country's administrative capital.
This is not the first time Datuk Seri Samy Vellu has been in the firing line over infrastructure issues.
In 2004, he took a shelling when cracks appeared on a highway flyover. Repairs then cost RM18 million (S$8 million).
However, the fallout from this latest spate of incidents is unlikely to affect his Cabinet post. He holds his position by virtue of being the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a senior member of the Barisan Nasional.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUST DO IT
'It is shameful that government departments have to quarrel over their respective responsibilities. Don't wait to be told that is your responsibility. Just do it.'
DATUK SERI ABDULLAH, criticising Works Minister Samy Vellu for saying Parliament House was not his department's responsibility
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