No state panel to probe collapse

KUALA TERENGGANU: A plan to set up a state-level committee to investigate the collapse of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium roof has been shot down by the deputy prime minister.

Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had advised him that there was no need to form an investigative committee in Terengganu as the one set up at the federal level would suffice.

“So, there will be no committee on our side. As advised by the deputy prime minister, it is best that only one committee probe the matter.”

A huge portion of the space frame roofing of the stadium, which was the main venue of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) last year, collapsed on June 2.

There were no casualties.
Following the incident, the state government had planned to form a committee to probe the collapse but a similar committee was also formed by the Works Ministry.

Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said the committee were given six months to complete investigations.

Regarding speculation that two other buildings in Kuala Terengganu were facing similar problems, Ahmad said the defects were not structural.

He admitted that a small section of the Sultan Mahmud airport roof was leaking and that cracks had appeared on the ramp leading to the indoor stadium in Gong Badak.

“But these are not structural defects and pose no danger. They will be rectified soon.”

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Stadium roof still under warranty, so not certified by PWD

KUALA TERENGGANU (The Star): The Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium was issued a partial work completion certificate last year as it was considered safe to host the Malaysia Games.

State Public Works Department deputy director Ghazali Hashim said the certification, based on the report by an independent examiner, was given to several sections of the stadium including the track, field and several areas outside the building.

“However, we have not issued any certification for the roof as it was still under the warranty period,” he said of the roof of the stadium which collapsed on Tuesday.

A local consultant commissioned to evaluate the safety of the roof declared it safe, he said, adding: “So, we allowed the Games to be held at the venue.”

Ghazali had earlier accompanied Youth and Sport Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek to visit the site Wednesday.

Ghazali said the department was only empowered to issue a work completion certificate once the warranty period had ended. “We have to wait for the warranty period to be over before issuing any certification for the roof,” he said.

Ghazali said government buildings were exempted from having to apply for Certificate of Fitness before occupying the premises.

In the case of the stadium, he said the department issued a partial certification and was in the midst of getting a full-fledged status for the stadium.

The department, he said, would ask the stadium’s main contractor for compensation and carry-out remedial work.

“We will hold the main contractor responsible as (the other firm) the Korean firm was the sub-contractor. “As far as we are concerned, payments were made directly to main contractor and not the Korean firm,” he said.

Ghazali said the department had previously compounded the main contractor for not completing work as scheduled.

Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said has ordered an immediate inspection of newly completed buildings following the incident.

He said the checks would focus on detecting structural defects, cracks and shoddy workmanship. Some of the new buildings are the indoor stadium, Sultan Mahmud Airport and swimming complex.

He said he himself noticed defects on the roof of the year-old Sultan Mahmud Airport. He said the state would appoint independent consultants to carry out the checks.

The roof collapse came only one year after the stadium’s completion which cost RM300mil.

Authorities are investigating if the contractors had rushed to complete the stadium ahead of the Malaysia Games in June last year. Meanwhile, Raja Datuk Kamarul Bahrin Shah of Senibahri Arkitek, the principal architect of the stadium, said he might comment on the incident in a few days’ time.

“I can’t say anything now as I do not have the full facts,” he said when contacted via SMS in Medinah where he is on his way to perform the umrah at Mecca.

Raja Kamarul Baharin said he would return to the country on June 10.

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