Member of parliament for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw was not impressed - he had tried calling the Works Ministry four times in the past two weeks to meet with the minister in charge, S Samy Vellu.

"His personal secretary N Selathurai took down my phone number, promising to inform me when Samy Vellu gives an appointment after he returned from Terengganu. I am still waiting," he said.

Tan's Kepong constituency is bearing the brunt of last week's closure of the two-year-old Middle Ring Road 2 (MRRII) flyover after dozens of cracks were found in its beams and pillars.

Samy Vellu had said that the flyover would be closed for three months for repairs work before it could be declared safe.

"After the closure, I have visited the Public Works Department without appointments due to the hot issue. The first time, I was not able to see the senior engineer in charge of roads or special projects. On Aug 16, I waited for over one and a half hours to see (PWD director-general) Zaini Omar."

However, he lamented that Zaini had kept mum on the fiasco, especially after Samy Vellu issued a gag order on government officials from speaking on the scandal involving the RM238 million MRRII project.

To express his outrage, Tan is organising a demonstration in Kepong this Sunday to protest against the scandal.

Bad taste in the mouth

Meanwhile, Tan's DAP colleague Lim Kit Siang accused the cabinet of acting in a "cavalier" fashion by ignoring the daily sufferings of tens of thousands of commuters caused by the road closure.

Lim, who is parliamentary opposition leader, said Malaysians were disappointed and shocked when Samy Vellu disclosed that the cabinet did not discuss the road closure at its weekly meeting yesterday.

"After last Wednesday's cabinet meeting where he gave a briefing on MRRII, Samy Vellu announced that his ministry would prepare and present a working paper, including a RM20 million repair proposal, to the cabinet the following week.

"Why has the cabinet agenda on the flyover repairs suddenly and completely fizzled out yesterday?" Lim fumed in a press statement today.

He said the cabinet, by not discussing the pressing matter, has left "a bad taste in the mouth and the distinct feeling that the rights and interests of ordinary Malaysians are being trifled with and even trampled on".

"Why didn't Samy Vellu present to cabinet the working paper on MRRII, which he had promised a week ago, and why didn't (Transport Minister) Chan Kong Choy raise the issue so that the Kepong flyover could be re-opened for use as soon as possible?"

Lim was referring to the Chan's statement on Monday when he said he would back the proposed RM20 million repair bill when it was expected to be raised at yesterday's cabinet meeting.

Chan is MP of Selayang, a constituency also affected by the flyover closure.

Taken for a ride

Lim also took a swipe at Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in his handling of the RM238 MRRII scandal as he had earlier "brilliantly diagnosed" Malaysia's 'first world infrastructure, third world mentality' malaise.

He said the thousands of commuters who suffered from a result of the nightmarish traffic gridlock as a result of the flyover closure "have been taken for a ride" by the cabinet.

"It would appear that less than five months after an unprecedented general election victory which had given the Barisan Nasional nine-tenth parliamentary majority, BN ministers and leaders have begun to forget their general elections pledges of humility, accountability, transparency and good governance," he said.

Lim had earlier called on Samy Vellu to take responsibility for the scandal and resign as works minister.