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KUALA TERENGGANU: The collapse of roofs in Terengganu hogged the limelight at the State Legislative Assembly sitting, turning the proceedings into a lively affair.
Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut (PAS-Wakaf Mempelam) set the ball rolling when he accused the state government of favouring Umno cronies whom he tagged as “OKU “(Orang Kuat Umno, or powerful Umno personalities).
“I believe (the roof collapses) were due to the state government’s approach of awarding the projects to OKU and not basing it on the credentials and capabilities of the main contractors. I have a list of roof and building collapse incidents in the state, from Kemaman to Besut, where most of these projects were awarded to Umno cronies,” he told the assembly.
Earlier, Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said, replying to Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi (PAS-Batu Boruk), revealed the name of the main contractor and sub-contractor responsible for the construction of the roof at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.
The Mentri Besar also tabled the report from the investigation committee appointed by the federal government to probe the cause of the collapse. Ahmad told the assembly that serious engineering flaws, shoddy workmanship, inferior materials and lack of expertise were found to be the main factors that led to the collapse.
He said the contract of the A class main contractor, Bina Struktur Emarcon Genggam Mercu JV, would be terminated in due course and the firm would be asked to bear the entire cost of reconstruction. He added that a notification on the intent to terminate the contract was submitted on March 22 with the firm given 14 days to reply.
“We will decide whether to appoint another firm as the main contractor after we have received the reply,” he added.
To a supplementary question from Mohd Nor Hamzah (PAS-Bukit Payong) on whether the state government intended to punish those responsible for the roof collapse, Ahmad said the state would leave it to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to determine whether the project was carried out according to procedures and specifications.
The house later rejected a proposal by Dr Syed Azman to table an emergency motion to debate the oil royalty issue. Ahmad also told the house that the state recorded 62 cases of illegal logging from 2004 to 2009.
Investigation papers to prosecute 10 illegal loggers had been completed while three cases have been referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for court proceedings, he said in his reply to Mohd Abdul Wahid Endut (PAS-Wakaf Mempelam).
