KUALA LUMPUR, 28 Oct 2009: The government has not made it compulsory for projects from public donations to be referred to the Public Works Department (PWD).
Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said despite this, contractors still need to address safety concerns, in line with engineering ethics.
“In engineering, the main responsibility is to ensure the safety of users,” he said, when asked whether the government would compel projects from public donations be referred to the PWD to prevent a repeat of the bridge collapse at Kuala Dipang, Kampar.
Shaziman told reporters in the Parliament lobby that he had asked the PWD to help in investigations, although it was not a PWD and government project.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday a special committee led by Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom had been formed to investigate the tragedy.
At 10.30pm on Monday, a pupil was killed while two others went missing when the suspension bridge spanning Sungai Kampar collapsed. Nineteen pupils were rescued.
The 298 pupils from 60 primary schools were taking part in a 1Malaysia camping activity organised by the Kinta Selatan District Education Office. — Bernama
ckh says
All donations to the government must get the approval of the respective ministries as well as the Public Services Department before the gift is accepted or the project started. The suspension bridge is no small project/gift; it would attract tax exemption if it were a gift to the government. Were all the procedures followed? I remember all projects involving structural construction and engineering having to get the advice and supervision of JKR.
ckh says
I can see that JKR is trying to wash its hands [of responsibility] here! I am sure they were aware of the collapse of the old bridge. How [could the district] JKR not know that a new bridge was being constructed? I am sure it was not built in a day or two.
Eventually all public structures in the district would come under the purview of JKR or the municipality/town council for maintenance. And even if the bridge had been on Ministry of Education land, it spanned across a river. What has the Irrigation and Drainage Department folks have to say about this? Can anyone simply build a bridge over any river without their approval?