Parliament springs leak, yet again
Water began dripping down the MPs lounge at Parliament after a heavy downpour, in what appears to be a never ending series of leaks.
Water began dripping down the MPs lounge at Parliament after a heavy downpour, in what appears to be a never ending series of leaks.
The leak was discovered by Deputy Tourism Minister James Dawos Mamit, when Parliament reconvened at 2.30pm after lunch.
The deputy minister was seen informing Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi (
left
) not to sit on the sofa located below the leak.
The staff were informed of the situation and they placed buckets to collect the water.
Aside from the wet floor, the leak did not cause any major damages and did not interrupt the Dewan Rakyat sitting.
Ooi lamented that the building's caretakers have failed to maintain the building properly and prevent the problem from recurring.
“It has happened again and again. I wonder if there are problems with the structure of Parliament building, because leakages have happened in different places.
“I urge the parliamentary affairs minister to explain, he should give us an answer."
In 2008, similar leakages had occurred at the Parliament lobby and media room.
Prior to that, there had been several similar incidents in the 49-year-old building, despite a RM100 million renovation exercise in 2005.
In June, the government mulled the possibility of moving Parliament to the Putrajaya International Convention Centre, as the Public Works Department (PWD) had estimated that renovations and repairs to the current building would cost RM150 million.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said in a written reply that the cabinet had decided on a new building for Parliament, at a price tag of RM800 million, instead of improving the existing one.
However, Works Minister Shaziman Abu Mansor denied that there was any such plan.
‘It’s an act of God’
Mohd Nazri told reporters at the Parliament lobby that a proposal on maintenance will be submitted to the cabinet.
“As soon as the cabinet makes the decision, maintenance will be carried out. What is the cause of this leak? I don’t know, ask PWD, they do the maintenance. Ask them,” said Nazri (
right
).
The minister added that the heavy rain and the subsequent leak was “an act of God”.
“This is an old building. What do you want me to do? Demolish the building? It’s an act of God, I cannot say anything. This is an old building,” he reiterated.
Meanwhile Deputy Works Minister Yong Khoon Seng, when met by reporters at the Parliament lobby, said that the leakage happened because the roof was old.
"We are taking immediate action to remedy it. The roof is flat, so there are certain areas where the water is sips (through). As time goes by, this happens (especially) when it rains heavily," said Yong.
He was not be able to explain why there was a leak when there are PWD staff based at Parliament to do maintenance work.
