Friday May 18, 2007
Samy finds rubbish, debris clogging roof gutter
By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN
KUALA LUMPUR: The august Parliament House has become the latest casualty of shoddy maintenance and defective structures, despite the Government pumping RM90mil to restore and renovate it several years ago.
The facelift gave it an impressive interior but the installation of water proofing equipment was not included in the contract.
When Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu went up to the rooftop of the building yesterday, he found five to six spots that had leaks.
He also found debris clogging the gutter.
There were also discarded water bottles, light bulbs and other rubbish, which he said must be cleared.
He said if the roof were not replaced, the situation would worsen and there could be another 10 to 15 leaks.
Early last month, the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya was flooded when a pipe connected to a water tank broke.
Days after the incident, the building housing the Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Ministry was flooded also due to a broken pipe.
On April 30, parts of a ceiling fell at the new court complex in Jalan Duta here.
The Public Works Department (PWD) has said it was broadening its regular inspection of government buildings to include hidden structures, such as water pipes and plumbing systems.
Samy Vellu admitted that the roof of the parliament building was having “severe” leakage problem and this required the whole structure to be rebuilt.
The roof also has to be installed with waterproofing and concealed ceiling equipment for heat protection, he told reporters after inspecting the roof and the effects of the ceiling leakage near the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara galleries.
“As an architect, I believe the present condition is severe.
“We must dismantle the whole structure and build it again with waterproofing equipment,” he said.
He described the leaks as very bad and told the PWD to carry out immediate repairs and other remedial work before the situation worsened.
“I want the repairs to be made to last 20 to 30 years,” he said, ordering the department to submit a working paper to the Cabinet by Monday.
“The cost has not been decided yet but I urge that only high-quality material be used for the repair works.
“The plastic water pipes must be replaced with class-A cast iron pipes. This building should be treated as a first-class facility since Parliament is a symbol of democracy.
“We need to rebuild the roof structure first before doing other work,” he said.
Samy Vellu said the building maintenance was not under the PWD but under the Parliament administration.
However, he added, the PWD was responsible in advising the Government on the maintenance of public buildings.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said incidences of leakages could not be predicted, adding that even new buildings had defects.
Previous Stories:
Checks for defects will cost RM22m, says Samy
Pak Lah spots ceiling defect
Pak Lah orders immediate inspection of government buildings
Scheduled maintenance for Immigration Department HQ
Poor design and shoddy work blamed
Ceiling crashed during check by developer
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