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Fomca, TI-M call for independent review of latest MRR2 incident
Tan Yi Liang


newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA (Aug 4, 2008) : The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) today urged the government to form an independent tribunal to investigate the causes of the cracks that appeared on Pier 28 of the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2) in Kepong.

Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha'ani Abdullah said such a tribunal is necessary due to past failures by the Works Ministry to fix the problem for good.


The flyover was reopened to traffic but two of it six
lanes will closed for three weeks pending expert
assessment on the stability ans safety.
- Sunpix By: Zulkifli Ersal.
"It (the cracks) shows there is some negligence in the process of implementing this project. Yesterday's incident is not the first, and the whole affair has already been investigated twice, and the public has been told everything is okay, and the road is safe to use," he said in a telephone interview with theSun.

"Yesterday’s incident shows that the previous statement from the Works Ministry that 'everything is okay' is fatally doubtful," said Muhammad Sha'ani, who called on the Works Ministry to conduct a thorough probe covering all aspects of the MRR2.

"Now the authorities are going to investigate further to find out what went wrong, but they should not only investigate what went wrong with the repairs. It has to go deeper into the beginning of the whole process, including the tendering and selection of contractors," he said, adding that this was the reason that an independent tribunal was needed.

In the second incident (in February 2006), investigations and repair works were carried out by the ministry,

"The ministry should therefore not be involved in the current investigations because there could be a conflict of interests in investigating the performance of the ministry and the related parties," said Muhammad Sha'ani, adding that the tribunal should be assisted by a technical team from the Defence Ministry.

"Defence Ministry engineers are the best because they have no ties to the Works Ministry, as if you go back to any other engineering department, they will actually be linked to the Works Ministry.

"Even major private engineers, if they have had any past dealings with the Works Ministry, cannot be involved in this tribunal in any way."

Review System of tenders and contracts for public projects, says TI-M

Muhammad Sha'ani's view was supported by Transparency International Malaysia president Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam who called for Fomca's proposed independent tribunal to be applied across the board.

"I think that might be necessary not only for this project, but more importantly to review the whole system of tenders and contracts and implementation of public projects to ensure integrity and accountability in the system," said Navaratnam.

"MRR2 is a big question of credibility. Are our roads and bridges safe and secure? The credibility and integrity of the whole tendering and contract system is now in question," said Navaratnam, warning that the recent failures reflected badly on the process of approving government contracts and tenders.

"Obviously, the quality of the construction is of grave concern. Public confidence can be seriously eroded by the recurrence of such major problems on MRR2 and other projects," he said.

"It is time that the government revamp the whole tendering and supervisory system to ensure that there is no wastage of public funds and the taxpayers get full value for their ringgit.

"You cannot let people get away scot-free repeatedly. Both officials and contractors are to blame. If disciplinary action is not taken, this process of poor quality performance and wastage of public funds will be encouraged continuously," said Navaratnam.

This is the third time the 1.7km flyover has to be closed due to cracks since it was fully opened in 2003. It was first closed in August 2004 when cracks were found on 31 of its 33 pillars as a result of improper anchoring of the crossbeams.

The pillars were repaired and the flyover re-opened to traffic on Nov 13 the same year. The MRR2 was then closed for the second time in February 2006 before it re-opened fully to traffic in December after repairs were completed.completed.

PM: Ensure problem does not recur

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for repair works on public infrastructure to be carried out with great care to ensure problems do not recur within a short time.

Referring to the latest incident of cracks appearing on the MRR2, he said such incidents will only make people angry and subsequently, all kinds of negative accusations will be thrown to the government.

"Whoever reads the (newspaper) reports would surely feel uneasy. Probably, just from reading the headlines, people will make all kinds of conclusions.

"And I can say, the conclusionsthey have in mind is not good because previously when it was damaged, we had spent RM70 million. t was a big spending. Now it cracked again, as told by the road users. This kind of stories will make the rakyat not happy, not at ease, and in fact, angry.

"Actually, such problems could be avoided if those responsible were careful in ensuring what was repaired was already strong and such cracks or damage will not recur within a short time. If everything was done properly, surely people will not be angry," he said at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly today.

Abdullah who said he read the news earlier on his way there, said it would be scary should the road collapse or a tragic accident occur.

Preliminary works to begin tomorrow

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department (JKR) announced that preliminary works are to begin tomorrow on Pier 28 of the MRR2.

JKR Deputy Director-General I Datuk Mohamad Husin said in a statement today the decision was reached at a meeting of JKR experts, representatives of the consultant and the contractor here today.

He said JKR had set up a special task force to undertake an investigation and supervise the repairs by the contractor.

The flyover and the road beneath it were closed from 10.30 am to 5 pm yesterday when cracks appeared on Pier 28 after three of the 18 carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) on Pier 28 peeled off early yesterday and some clumps of concrete fell onto the road.

Mohamad said there had been no new cracks nor had old cracks reappeared since yesterday.

Updated: 06:13PM Mon, 04 Aug 2008