Plaza Damas Contractor has Safety Rating D, E

Seven stop-work orders, nine notices and three summonses? All within 26 months since construction work for the Plaza Damas service apartments began?

You believe it? Yet the NOISH authorities allowed the project to go on indefinitely?

The Contractor is MWE Advance Structures Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of public listed company, MWE Holdings Bhd. A public listed company and an ISO 9000 certified organization for quality system?

My God, is ISO certification a problem in Malaysia? Or, is the quality auditors blind?

The company was given a safety rating of D, E, being the lowest rating by DOSH!!!

The company was served 3-summonses for safety breach and among the main offences were unsafe scaffolding, absence of guardrails, and loading platforms are not designed by certified engineers. The contractor was also found to have used unregistered heavy machineries which are not inspected and certified fit by the Machinery Department.

On complaints by residents from nearby Puncak Prima apartments that work was still in progress, Human Resources Minister, Dr Fong Chan onn said the contractor was carrying out minor remedial work on its safety equipments. “We have issued the stop-work order and we will make sure the contractor complies with it,” he said.

Several complaints from Puncak Prima residents that work on the project was still on early yesterday. “The crane was moving all morning and I could hear sounds of machinery works, hammering and chiselling,” said a chartered accountant, who declined to be named. Another resident, who only wanted to be known as Cheong, claimed that work at the site used to be carried out even on public holidays and weekends, sometimes until 2am.

“Residents are unhappy over the inadequate safety measures at the site and have complained many times to City Hall but our grouses fell on deaf ears,” he said.

Well, it's not uncommon that grouses fell on deaf ears; after all, semua boleh Kautim lah - can negotiate the way out lah!

Malaysia Boleh? ISO 9000 consistency of failures?

Maybe, Parliament should set up a committee to evaluate the ISO auditors too!

There will be more of such problems. There is no solution to it as semua boleh Kautim and even if more regulations and departments are set up, it is a matter of paying over-the-table or under-the-table. It is inherent culture, and rules and regulations are made to provide opportunities for some side-income.

Believe me, that's the culture that had been since decades.

Soon, Dr Liew Boon Horng (the decease) will be forgotten until the next minister's son is hit by a collapse tower crane.