Wednesday July 23, 2008 MYT 4:37:51 PM
Rude shock at Penang state assembly (updated)
By CHRISTINA CHIN
GEORGE TOWN: A 3m-long ceiling cornice came crashing down the lobby of the historical state assembly building as about 40 assembly members and journalists were having their morning tea-break.
The incident happened suddenly at about 11am, catching everyone by surprise when the cornice landed with a loud thud. Fortunately, the crash occurred near the lobby’s main entrance where not many people were standing.
State Public Works, Utility and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng, who described the incident as “shocking”, had just walked out of the state assembly hall when the cornice fell.
Hock Seng, who was in the construction industry for 22 years, said the incident was due to “human error”.
“The ceiling itself is safe. The cornice came off because it was not properly nailed to the ceiling joist.
“I will get the JKR workers to check the ceiling today. Repair work will be conducted on Friday as there won’t be a sitting then,” he said.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the heritage building had “priceless historical value” and the state would ensure that all necessary repair and maintenance works were conducted “immediately”.
“I have asked (Hock Seng) to inspect the building’s safety and make sure that such incidences do not happen again.
“We will set up a JKR coordination unit to conduct maintenance work on key buildings. The maintenance culture here is not good,” he said, adding that the state was now paying for “past mistakes”.
“The previous administration did not conduct proper safety inspections, perhaps this is why the cornice fell. We can move into newer buildings that are more comfortable but we want to preserve our heritage,” he said.
Opposition leader Datuk Azhar Ibrahim said it was not right to blame the previous government.
“Takkanlah semua pun Barisan Nasional (not everything is our fault). The state should have gotten JKR to inspect the building before the sitting - that is the normal practice.”
Three former assemblymen from Barisan - Cheang Chee Gooi, Datuk Lau Chiek Tuan and Tan Cheng Liang - who were present near the area where the cornice fell urged the state to inspect all government and privately owned heritage buildings to ensure that they are safe.
Cheang, who was just a few steps away from where the cornice fell, said what was important now was for the new administration to act.
“It is very wrong to say that the previous government was not concerned with the safety of buildings. This could have been a negligent contractor’s fault,” he said.
In 2005, the 19th century state legislative building underwent repairs as its cengal wood roof truss was termite-infested.
As repair works costing RM200,000, had taken about half a year, the state assembly sitting was moved to Dewan Sri Pinang.
Between 2002 and 2004, nine minor repair works including fixing the leaking roof and damaged gutter, replacing faulty doors, and upgrading the facilities, including the chief minister’s and deputy chief minister’s offices were carried out on the building at a total cost of RM275,000.
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