Jalan Macalister reopens a week after tragedy

Jalan Macalister was reopened yesterday at about 8pm, a week after a lightning arrester pole from the top of Menara Umno came crashing down on the road below, killing two people.

It had been expected to reopen earlier but was held up because of work to clear debris on top of the building.

Workers from the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) and other agencies had worked round the clock to repair the damaged cables and pipes and to fill up a 7metre-deep crater caused by the collapse of the pole.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (left) berated the building owner, JKP Sdn Bhd, for "taking their time" to clear the metal cladding from the top of the building.

"Why are they making it difficult for the people? They could have finished it in the 24 hours it took the council and the others to complete their repair works. They knew the road would be reopened today," he said.

The company had also failed to submit a work statement to the council, which was a requirement before work sites were cordoned off for the council to ascertain the method of work, time-frame and safety procedures.

"From the work statement, MPPP could have gauged the amount of time needed to get the job done. We did not want to stop them because if we did, they would blame MPPP if anything bad happened," Lim said.

"We want an explanation from Umno or the company for not submitting the work statement. We understand safety is paramount here and that is why we could not fully reopen the road earlier although it was ready for use."

Because of the delay, only the stretch between Lorong Kinta and Lorong Madras was initially reopened to motorists.

The remaining 150-metre stretch in front of Masjid Pakistan experienced the worst impact after the "meteorite-like" crash killed Indian national Jahir Hussain Sulaiman.

Building owner to explain

Another person, rice seller Lim Chin Aik (below), is missing and believed to be entombed at the site.

JKP chief executive officer Adzmi Ariffin said they would accept the showcause letter from MPPP for not submitting a work statement.

He said the preparation of a work statement would have delayed the clearing of the metal cladding.

"MPPP said we could work until 4pm but later told us to stop. If we had submitted a work statement, there would have been a delay in approving it. Work would never have started. These procedures are troublesome. It delays our work," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, they would explain the reasons for not following the legal procedure of submitting the work statement.

Adzmi said the Public Works Institute (Ikram) had been asked to conduct an audit on the building.

JKP, a fully-owned Finance Ministry Incorporated company which bought the building in 2005, had failed to submit a building audit.

Under Section 85A of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, building owners were required to submit the audit for structure and safety reasons and could face a fine of RM100,000, a jail term of five years, or both.

- The Malay Mail

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