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Team to identify what needs to be fixed at Parliament House
21/05/2007 The Star By Royce Cheah and Tan Karr Wei
KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Works Department (PWD) will take a week to identify
what needs to be fixed at Parliament House before a “to-do list” is
submitted to the Cabinet.
Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he had directed the
department’s director-general to assemble a team of engineers and architects
to look into the roofing, wiring and other problems plaguing the 43-year-old
building.
He reiterated that the leaking roof and wiring problems were a result of
Parliament House being an old building and not because the RM90mil
renovation works in 2005 was incomplete.
When Parliament House was first built “it was a very beautiful building” but
it needed maintenance and renovations.
“A woman 50 years ago, she looks beautiful, but today she won't look so
beautiful,” he said, adding that work under the RM90mil renovations was
complete.
“Electrical rewiring was done for the two dewans and the public gallery
while the renovations included things like the carpets, toilets and floors.
“Anyone can see the difference between the interior of Parliament House
before and what it is now,” he said, adding that he could not talk about the
cost of the upcoming repair works.
On Saturday, Speaker Tan Sri Ramli Ngah Talib had said faulty electrical
wiring in the house needed immediate attention.
Samy Vellu said it would be looked into but added that the PWD could not
fulfil the Speaker’s request to have an engineer stationed at Parliament
permanently.
“We do not normally do that because we only go when there are problems.
“We are like doctors, we only go when someone is sick and not wait for
someone to get sick.
“However, if Parliament requests it, I will ask the department to start a
unit to carry out maintenance for that building all the time.”
To a question about completely demolishing Parliament House and building a
new one, Samy Vellu said the cost would be in the range of RM1.5bil-RM2bil,
a whopping sum. |
