Volunteers travel to isle to save abandoned dogs from hunger and thirst
Some of the stray dogs emerging from their hiding places to eat the food brought by the independent rescuers during their rescue visit to Pulau Gazumbo. — Photos courtesy of IAPWA
OVER the loud rumbling of the fishing boat engine, excited barking can be heard from Pulau Gazumbo, a small uninhabited island between Penang island and mainland.
Five beautiful dogs emerge from the shade, running all the way into the water to greet the visitors.
Alone and trapped on the island with no food resources or clean water, the dogs are skinny and completely reliant on the help of local fishermen who stop to drop off food about once in 20 days.
It is believed that in total, there are 13 canines – six matured and seven puppies – but how the dogs ended up on the tiny island remains a mystery.
News of the abandoned dogs reached the ears of independent animal rescuers about two weeks ago who decided that something needed to be done.
A litter of puppies captured by the rescuers from the uninhabited isle and being put up for adoption.
Requests to authorities faltered as officially, Pulau Gazumbo (believed to be an island created in the early 1980s during the construction of the first Penang Bridge either by the changing of currents or by excess building materials) is under no one’s jurisdiction.
“We have heard that the dogs have been there for more than six months and the puppies look to be about two months old, ” said animal activist David Yim.
Not wanting to delay help any longer, Yim engaged a fishing boat to bring a group of rescuers to the island last week.
“We were scheduled to go on Friday but unfortunately, the fishing boat broke down on Thursday night.
There are about four to five fishermen who help the dogs when they can.
On Saturday, some of them announced that they were free in the afternoon and went on their own to try and rescue the dogs.
They managed to bring six puppies back to Penang island, ” Yim told The Star.
Without any steady source of food or drinking water, abandoned dogs on Pulau Gazumbo are extremely thin. They are sometimes fed by passing fishermen.
Alerted of their arrival by Yim, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) councillor Connie Tan, who heads the council’s Stray and Abandoned Dog Sub-committee, sent officers to receive the dogs.
“Under a collaboration with the International Aid for the Protection & Welfare of Animals (IAPWA) Penang in 2017, MBPP conducts ‘TNR’, which means ‘Trap-Neuter-Release/Rehome’.
“We first take the dogs to our veterinary unit in Jalan Sungai and after they are checked, IAPWA takes them to be neutered and hopefully, rehomed, ” Tan said.
The six rescued puppies, which IAPWA estimates to be from six to eight weeks old, are currently up for adoption.
Tan said although the area was out of their jurisdiction, the council is aiding the rescue team with cages and tools to help them capture the remaining dogs.
Two of the rescued puppies now placed in a temporary home at the MBPP’s veterinary unit in Jalan Sungai.
Yim and a small team proceeded to Pulau Gazumbo on Sunday, lugging 40kg of kibble, over 14kg of canned food and 26 litres of drinking water for the trapped animals.
On the desert island, they discovered how hot conditions are despite the splattering of greenery that survives there.
They also learned something else – how fast a scared puppy can run.
“When you look at the island from Penang Bridge, it looks small.
“But when you are running after a puppy under the sun, the area feels very big, ” Yim said, adding that the team failed in their goal of capturing the last puppy.
Undaunted, the team is set to try again today, setting off from Karpal Singh Drive.
A rescuer pouring food on a plastic sheet to feed the dogs on the isle.A rescuer pouring food on a plastic sheet to feed the dogs on the isle.
“We need to go with the fishermen because the dogs are familiar with them.
“So far, we have managed to collect donations for the food that cost about RM1,200 which we estimate to be able to last about a month, if it doesn’t rain, ” Yim said.
He added that all the fishermen journeyed to the island at their own expenses out of their concern for the stray dogs.
“We don’t know how long it will take to capture all the dogs but our first priority is to rescue the last puppy and the mother dog.
“She is the only female dog on the island and it’s important to get her spayed, ” Yim said.
Information on how to sponsor vaccinations and neutering for stray and abandoned dogs can be found on IAPWA Penang’s Facebook page.
Your organisation may deserve an award but be aware of vanity awards disguised as legitimate prizes.
A vanity award is less of an honour because the recipient essentially has to fork out money for it. An organisation is asked to purchase the award by paying a high entry fee, sponsorship or other charges. It is a business model that transcends borders and industries with US non-profit organisation Better Business Bureau issuing warnings about such schemes in the United States and Canada since 2008. Even government bodies have been known to pay for vanity awards. In 2017, The Star reported the Penang Municipal Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council had revealed that they might have fallen for a vanity awards scheme by the Europe Business Assembly (EBA) in 2013 and 2014. (See related posts below) Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd said they won the EBA awards without assessment by any judges after paying a total of €7,800 (RM39,088) in entry fees. The now retired Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Patahiyah Ismail was awarded the Best Municipal Manager while the council was given the Best Municipality Award in 2013. A year later, the Seberang Prai Municipal Council got the Best City award while its then president Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif was named the Best Municipal Manager. Two European NGOs – the Center for Investigative Reporting of Serbia (CINS) and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) – exposed the EBA titles as a vanity awards scam.
The report states that such organisations sent solicitation letters to companies and government agencies in the world, telling them that they had been nominated for various awards.
“Anyone who replies, shows interest and agrees to pay gets an award. Most of the letters contain the ceremony programme generally held in an attractive European capital, pictures of the trophies and information about costs,” the report added.
In 2011, The Star highlighted the proliferation of dubious awards due to high demand for such prizes.
The report said some organisers were giving out less-than-credible awards and then asking the “winners” to sponsor or buy dinner tables at lavish presentation events.
The asking price for such sponsorships ranged from RM4,000 to RM30,000, with some companies admitting they paid up for fear of business rivals getting the awards instead.
The organisers also banked on these companies’ need for recognition to boost their business. These companies treated such sponsorship as investments.
The Star reported that when demand for such awards increased, the “supply” can be raised simply by creating new categories.
Legitimacy of money-making awards ceremonies questioned
‘Honours’ list: Adeva giving a speech at its awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. Screencap from APTTF’s Facebook page.
Like most other people, leaders in the business world take pride in receiving recognition for their hard work and achievements. They also see value in being considered as among the best. These sentiments have helped spawn a lucrative mini industry built on award ceremonies that are more about earning money than honouring and encouraging excellence.
Businessmen have raised questions over the growing number of award programmes whose organisers demand payments from those who are supposedly nominated for prizes. The charges range from administrative fees to sponsorship.
Entrepreneur Jan Wong said he had been contacted by 10 different award organisers congratulating him on winning their awards but with one big condition.
“I was told that to qualify for the awards, I needed to pay for the nomination, a table (at the awards ceremony), marketing exposure or the trophy ,” said Wong, who was in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2017.
“If I don’t want to pay, I won’t win,” he added. He questioned the prestige of such awards.
There are similar concerns about a recent travel industry awards ceremony in Malaysia by a little-known organisation called the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Federation (APTTF).
Participants said they had doubts about the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Awards after the event turned disorderly. The Tourism Minister did not show up although the organiser said he would. Some winners received the wrong awards, while several others were not given their awards that day.
“The chief executive officer’s explanation as to why they did not present our awards was that they had misplaced a box of trophies in the office,” participant Melissa (not her real name) said.
“When he was closing the event on stage he even asked if he had missed out any awards. But we were too polite to speak up.”Melissa said many award categories had five winners each. There was one category with about 30 winners, she added.
She said the event was supposed to be a prestigious gala dinner but it turned out to be a low-budget conference-style luncheon.
Participants paid RM575 to RM755 per seat or RM4,500 per table to attend the April 11 ceremony in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. There were about 200 award recipients.
In its promotional materials and conversations with participants, the APTTF claimed that Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had endorsed and supported the awards ceremony.
However, both organisations have denied any such affiliation.
“Malaysia Airlines is not associated, has not endorsed nor has any involvement with the APTTF,” MAS told The Star.
Tourism Malaysia said it is not a member of the federation and that the APTTF Malaysian Chapter is not a recognised travel association.
“The APTTF Malaysian Chapter is not registered with the Registrar of Societies and is not found in the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s MYDATA portal,” said Tourism Malaysia, adding that it had declined the invitation to attend the awards ceremony.
Further checks by The Star revealed that the website photo of the APTTF chairman is a stock image (an image provided by an agency that can be used for a fee).
The website also has the text of a speech by the chairman addressing the award winners. He has a Japanese name that does not show up elsewhere in an Internet search.
According to former APTTF employees, the people behind the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Awards had also organised the Asia Lifestyle Tourism Awards (ALTA) through an organisation called Asian Sports Group.
“My job was to call hotels all over South-East Asia to convince them to join the APTTF as a member. The hotels had to pay a fee and an award would be given when they joined,” said Jeff (not his real name).
“We actively name-dropped tourism ministries to convince the hotels and tour operators to sign up,” he said, adding that the organiser also operated under the name ASG Management Group Sdn Bhd
.
Sarah (not her real name) said she was tasked to organise ALTA 2018 which was supposed to be held in Shenzhen in September 2018. However, the event was cancelled although participants had purchased tickets to the event.
“The event didn’t happen because the company didn’t exist,” she said.
Thailand-based hotel operator Paisal Panchalad, who is among those affected by the cancellation of ALTA 2018, said the company did not reimburse the US$1,605 (RM6,638) he had paid despite multiple assurances from the CEO.
“CEO Adeva Sangkuni informed us that he would refund all money but he did not do that,” he said, adding that there were many others with the same complaint.
Sarah was not surprised that several winners of the KL awards ceremony last month did not receive their prizes. She said a similar thing happened in ALTA 2017, leading to a big hotel brand in Malaysia boycotting the organiser.
Sarah and Jeff said they suspected something was amiss with the company after discovering that many of the officials listed on the websites were fake.
The former employees claimed that the company did not pay their salaries during the one to two months that they worked there in mid-2018.
Last year, they lodged reports with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Labour Department and the police against APTTF and ASG Management Group over the companies’ unregistered operations and the unpaid salaries
Your organisation may deserve an award but be aware of vanity awards disguised as legitimate prizes.
A vanity award is less of an honour because the recipient essentially has to fork out money for it. An organisation is asked to purchase the award by paying a high entry fee, sponsorship or other charges.
It is a business model that transcends borders and industries with US non-profit organisation Better Business Bureau issuing warnings about such schemes in the United States and Canada since 2008.
Even government bodies have been known to pay for vanity awards.
In 2017, The Star reported the Penang Municipal Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council had revealed that they might have fallen for a vanity awards scheme by the Europe Business Assembly (EBA) in 2013 and 2014. (See related posts below)
Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd said they won the EBA awards without assessment by any judges after paying a total of €7,800 (RM39,088) in entry fees.
The now retired Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Patahiyah Ismail was awarded the Best Municipal Manager while the council was given the Best Municipality Award in 2013.
A year later, the Seberang Prai Municipal Council got the Best City award while its then president Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif was named the Best Municipal Manager.
Two European NGOs – the Center for Investigative Reporting of Serbia (CINS) and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) – exposed the EBA titles as a vanity awards scam.
The report states that such organisations sent solicitation letters to companies and government agencies in the world, telling them that they had been nominated for various awards.
“Anyone who replies, shows interest and agrees to pay gets an award. Most of the letters contain the ceremony programme generally held in an attractive European capital, pictures of the trophies and information about costs,” the report added.
In 2011, The Star highlighted the proliferation of dubious awards due to high demand for such prizes.
The report said some organisers were giving out less-than-credible awards and then asking the “winners” to sponsor or buy dinner tables at lavish presentation events.
The asking price for such sponsorships ranged from RM4,000 to RM30,000, with some companies admitting they paid up for fear of business rivals getting the awards instead.
The organisers also banked on these companies’ need for recognition to boost their business. These companies treated such sponsorship as investments.
The Star reported that when demand for such awards increased, the “supply” can be raised simply by creating new categories.
Legitimacy of money-making awards ceremonies questioned
‘Honours’ list: Adeva giving a speech at its awards ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. Screencap from APTTF’s Facebook page.
Like most other people, leaders in the business world take pride in receiving recognition for their hard work and achievements. They also see value in being considered as among the best. These sentiments have helped spawn a lucrative mini industry built on award ceremonies that are more about earning money than honouring and encouraging excellence.
Businessmen have raised questions over the growing number of award programmes whose organisers demand payments from those who are supposedly nominated for prizes. The charges range from administrative fees to sponsorship.
Entrepreneur Jan Wong said he had been contacted by 10 different award organisers congratulating him on winning their awards but with one big condition.
“I was told that to qualify for the awards, I needed to pay for the nomination, a table (at the awards ceremony), marketing exposure or the trophy ,” said Wong, who was in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2017.
“If I don’t want to pay, I won’t win,” he added. He questioned the prestige of such awards.
There are similar concerns about a recent travel industry awards ceremony in Malaysia by a little-known organisation called the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Federation (APTTF).
Participants said they had doubts about the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Awards after the event turned disorderly. The Tourism Minister did not show up although the organiser said he would. Some winners received the wrong awards, while several others were not given their awards that day. “The chief executive officer’s explanation as to why they did not present our awards was that they had misplaced a box of trophies in the office,” participant Melissa (not her real name) said.
“When he was closing the event on stage he even asked if he had missed out any awards. But we were too polite to speak up.”Melissa said many award categories had five winners each. There was one category with about 30 winners, she added.
She said the event was supposed to be a prestigious gala dinner but it turned out to be a low-budget conference-style luncheon.
Participants paid RM575 to RM755 per seat or RM4,500 per table to attend the April 11 ceremony in a Kuala Lumpur hotel. There were about 200 award recipients.
In its promotional materials and conversations with participants, the APTTF claimed that Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had endorsed and supported the awards ceremony.
However, both organisations have denied any such affiliation.
“Malaysia Airlines is not associated, has not endorsed nor has any involvement with the APTTF,” MAS told The Star.
Tourism Malaysia said it is not a member of the federation and that the APTTF Malaysian Chapter is not a recognised travel association.
“The APTTF Malaysian Chapter is not registered with the Registrar of Societies and is not found in the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s MYDATA portal,” said Tourism Malaysia, adding that it had declined the invitation to attend the awards ceremony.
Further checks by The Star revealed that the website photo of the APTTF chairman is a stock image (an image provided by an agency that can be used for a fee).
The website also has the text of a speech by the chairman addressing the award winners. He has a Japanese name that does not show up elsewhere in an Internet search.
According to former APTTF employees, the people behind the Asia Pacific Tourism and Travel Awards had also organised the Asia Lifestyle Tourism Awards (ALTA) through an organisation called Asian Sports Group.
“My job was to call hotels all over South-East Asia to convince them to join the APTTF as a member. The hotels had to pay a fee and an award would be given when they joined,” said Jeff (not his real name).
“We actively name-dropped tourism ministries to convince the hotels and tour operators to sign up,” he said, adding that the organiser also operated under the name ASG Management Group Sdn Bhd
. Sarah (not her real name) said she was tasked to organise ALTA 2018 which was supposed to be held in Shenzhen in September 2018. However, the event was cancelled although participants had purchased tickets to the event.
“The event didn’t happen because the company didn’t exist,” she said.
Thailand-based hotel operator Paisal Panchalad, who is among those affected by the cancellation of ALTA 2018, said the company did not reimburse the US$1,605 (RM6,638) he had paid despite multiple assurances from the CEO.
“CEO Adeva Sangkuni informed us that he would refund all money but he did not do that,” he said, adding that there were many others with the same complaint.
Sarah was not surprised that several winners of the KL awards ceremony last month did not receive their prizes. She said a similar thing happened in ALTA 2017, leading to a big hotel brand in Malaysia boycotting the organiser.
Sarah and Jeff said they suspected something was amiss with the company after discovering that many of the officials listed on the websites were fake.
The former employees claimed that the company did not pay their salaries during the one to two months that they worked there in mid-2018.
Last year, they lodged reports with the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Labour Department and the police against APTTF and ASG Management Group over the companies’ unregistered operations and the unpaid salaries
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who is the
committee chairman, said the MBPP as the owner of the project had failed
in its overall responsibility to supervise the project despite having
appointed Jurutera Perunding GEA as representative of the superintendent
officer. NSTP/MIKAIL ONG
MBPP among four named as responsible in fatal Penang landslide
GEORGE TOWN: Four parties have been identified as being responsible for the fatal landslide at the construction site of the paired road at Jalan Bukit Kukus last October incident, including the Penang Island City Council (MBPP).
A special investigation committee set up by the Penang government following the fatal landslide at the construction site also named the other three parties, namely the contractor Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd, the consultant, Jurutera Perunding GEA (M) Sdn Bhd and the independent checking engineer G&P Professional Sdn Bhd.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who is the committee chairman, said the MBPP as the owner of the project had failed in its overall responsibility to supervise the project despite having appointed Jurutera Perunding GEA as representative of the superintendent officer.
“By appointing Jurutera Perunding GEA, it does not mean that the council is free from responsibilities to ensure the success of the project from all aspects.
"As such, any actions to be taken against the council will depend on the outcome of investigations by the police, the Department of Occupational Safety and Heath (DOSH) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) into the incident," he said when making public findings of the investigation committee.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said as for Yuta Maju, it had failed to ensure satisfactory mitigation works at the project site, and that the temporary slope constructed at the project site was not endorsed or designed by accredited consultants, which was a violation of the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) guidelines.
“It also failed to ensure site safety by removing the empty containers at the project site, where nine bodies were recovered," he added.
As for Jurutera Perunding GEA, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said the party had failed to ensure that the contractor abide by the guidelines set out by the BEM, while G&P Professional had failed to abide by the job scope given by the council.
“Following our findings, we have recommended that the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer be blacklisted from any tender consideration for projects in the future.
“That said, they will still have to continue their works for the paired road project, until the project completion, slated for May next year,” he added.
The landslide at the Bukit Kukus paired roads project site on Oct 19 last year killed nine site workers and left four others injured.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation was called off after five days. The project's stop-work orders, separately issued by DOSH, CIDB and the council, were lifted up recently.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said the special investigation committee also identified 10 main factors which had contributed the to fatal landslide, particularly not fully adopting best practices in construction work.
Other factors included:
* heavy rain on the morning of the incident at 55mm
* the contractor was unable to enter the project site to carry out mitigation works as stop-work order was issued by DOSH two days prior to the incident following a worksite accident
* unsafe construction processes
* failure to recognise the significance of an earlier incident (falling beams at another part of the project site two days prior to the landslide);
* lack of supervision
* failure to identify risk due to the change of process
* lack of comprehensive inspection and testing
* failure in risk communication
* poor management of sub-contractors.
Asked on why the services of the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer were not immediately terminated following the incident, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said from what he understood, the stop-work orders issued on the three were only for one part of the project and not the entire project.
"Also, there was no record of safety issues prior to the landslide," he said.
He called on efforts to protect the remaining part of the project as a resu
lt of a negative perception.
"Any delay will put the project at greater risks."
To another question if the special investigation committee's findings would be made public, he there had been no plans to do so as the report served as a guideline for the state. - By Audrey Dermawan, NST >
‘MBPP hired resident engineer for Bukit Kukus project’
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) appointed a resident engineer and an independent checking engineer even before the start of the Bukit Kukus paired road project, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“If you see the action taken by MBPP, they understand their technical insufficiency in terms of a geotechnical engineer. That’s why in the contract, they required the main contractor to appoint a resident engineer, who was paid by MBPP to monitor the project on MBPP’s behalf.
“The independent checking engineers were also paid by MBPP. So, it was a measure taken by MBPP even before the start of the project, knowing that this is a big project.
“They did not have the capacity to monitor the project as they have only two or three engineers who have to be looking at other matters besides this project.
“So, they took action to appoint a resident engineer as well as independent checking enginners to act on behalf of MBPP,” he told reporters at the Penang Development Corporation Chinese New Year celebration at the PDC office in Bayan Lepas yesterday.
Chow also said the state would wait for the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) report first.
“We will leave it to DOSH’s findings. Let DOSH come out with the report and we will take the necessary action after that,” he said.
Asked if MBPP had to bear necessary compensation for families of the victims of the landslide last October, Chow said MBPP had not received any claim so far.
Chow was asked to respond to the Consumers Association of Penang’s (CAP) call for stern action to be taken against the wrongdoers responsible for the tragedy.
CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris in a statement yesterday said: “While we welcome the investigation committee’s findings as to who is responsible for the tragedy, we are concerned that apart from recommending the blacklisting of the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer from any tender consideration for future projects, it appears that no further stern action has been recommended.
“In particular, we want to know what action will be taken against MBPP,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who headed the investigation panel, was reported yesterday as saying that MBPP and other parties involved in the construction of the Jalan Bukit Kukus paired road project had not adhered to construction and engineering best practices.
Meanwhile, MBPP acknowledged responsibility for the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy as it is the council’s project.
MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the council was not pushing away any responsibility or negative comments on the council and project, and that it would be taken seriously. - By Cavina Lim and Intan Amalina Mohd Ali, The Star
Penang landslide report blames contractor, MBPP and DOSH
The special investigative panel report on the Bukit Kukus landslide had not been made public, but excerpts of the findings were made available by the state.
However, it has raised more questions than answers as the state blamed the contractor, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
In an immediate response, DOSH Penang director Jaafar Leman denied the department was to be blamed for the landslide.
“We were not even invited to be part of the investigative panel to give our views. How could we be blamed?” he asked.
According to the statement by Deputy Chief Minister 1 Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman who headed the investigative panel, the stop-work order on Oct 17 prevented contractors from entering the site to do maintenance works.
As a result, the temporary toe drain overflowed and water was retained on the reclaimed land contributing to the collapse of the slopes.
“How could a stop order which was issued on Oct 17 contribute to the landslide which occurred on Oct 19?” asked Jaafar.
He said the slopes would have been risky from the beginning as the contractor did not do any mitigation works to strengthen them and it does not make sense to blame DOSH.
The stop-work order was issued on Oct 17 after 14 beams fell in a ravine.
Earlier, during a press conference, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said MBPP and other parties involved in the construction of the Jalan Bukit Kukus paired roads project, had not adhered to construction and engineering best practices.
“The landslide was caused by many factors, which included a temporary construction of a platform to place machinery which was not constructed properly. The temporary platform was created to allow heavy vehicles lift beams for the paired road project.
“MBPP, as owners of the project, had failed to ensure all the hired parties carried out their job.
“MBPP had failed to hire a professional engineer for temporary works to design and supervise the site,” he said yesterday.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said another factor was the downpour in the morning of the day of the landslide.- The Star
Kudos to Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin for holding the four parties accountable for the Bukit Kukus landslide
tragedy. The inquiry still begs a lot of questions, e.g. why was the
contract given to Yuta Maju from Terengganu? Could the accident have
been prevented if a proper EIA was done? It is not just a "bureaucratic
hurdle" but supposed to identify risks and advise mitigation. If the
authorities wish to go on with the project, it is not too late to
commissi... See more
“This
is no simple incident as nine deaths resulted from it. Very stern
action must be taken against the MBPP, and that includes strong
disciplinary action against the mayor and officers responsible.
“Otherwise, it will be business-as-usual in the MBPP as the officers will be allowed to go scot-free with impunity.
Dubious honours: (Above) Former Penang Island City Council mayor
Patahiyah Ismail with the trophy and certificate for Best Municipal
Manager awards in 2013 while her Seberang Prai counterpart Maimunah
(pictured here with the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his aide Wong
Hon Wai) received the same latter award in 2014
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who is the committee chairman, said the MBPP as the owner of the project had failed in its overall responsibility to supervise the project despite having appointed Jurutera Perunding GEA as representative of the superintendent officer. NSTP/MIKAIL ONG
MBPP among four named as responsible in fatal Penang landslide
GEORGE TOWN: Four parties have been identified as being responsible for the fatal landslide at the construction site of the paired road at Jalan Bukit Kukus last October incident, including the Penang Island City Council (MBPP).
A special investigation committee set up by the Penang government following the fatal landslide at the construction site also named the other three parties, namely the contractor Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd, the consultant, Jurutera Perunding GEA (M) Sdn Bhd and the independent checking engineer G&P Professional Sdn Bhd.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who is the committee chairman, said the MBPP as the owner of the project had failed in its overall responsibility to supervise the project despite having appointed Jurutera Perunding GEA as representative of the superintendent officer.
“By appointing Jurutera Perunding GEA, it does not mean that the council is free from responsibilities to ensure the success of the project from all aspects.
"As such, any actions to be taken against the council will depend on the outcome of investigations by the police, the Department of Occupational Safety and Heath (DOSH) and the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) into the incident," he said when making public findings of the investigation committee.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said as for Yuta Maju, it had failed to ensure satisfactory mitigation works at the project site, and that the temporary slope constructed at the project site was not endorsed or designed by accredited consultants, which was a violation of the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) guidelines.
“It also failed to ensure site safety by removing the empty containers at the project site, where nine bodies were recovered," he added.
As for Jurutera Perunding GEA, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said the party had failed to ensure that the contractor abide by the guidelines set out by the BEM, while G&P Professional had failed to abide by the job scope given by the council.
“Following our findings, we have recommended that the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer be blacklisted from any tender consideration for projects in the future.
“That said, they will still have to continue their works for the paired road project, until the project completion, slated for May next year,” he added.
The landslide at the Bukit Kukus paired roads project site on Oct 19 last year killed nine site workers and left four others injured.
The search and rescue (SAR) operation was called off after five days. The project's stop-work orders, separately issued by DOSH, CIDB and the council, were lifted up recently.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said the special investigation committee also identified 10 main factors which had contributed the to fatal landslide, particularly not fully adopting best practices in construction work.
Other factors included:
* heavy rain on the morning of the incident at 55mm
* the contractor was unable to enter the project site to carry out mitigation works as stop-work order was issued by DOSH two days prior to the incident following a worksite accident
* unsafe construction processes
* failure to recognise the significance of an earlier incident (falling beams at another part of the project site two days prior to the landslide);
* lack of supervision
* failure to identify risk due to the change of process
* lack of comprehensive inspection and testing
* failure in risk communication
* poor management of sub-contractors.
Asked on why the services of the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer were not immediately terminated following the incident, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said from what he understood, the stop-work orders issued on the three were only for one part of the project and not the entire project.
"Also, there was no record of safety issues prior to the landslide," he said.
He called on efforts to protect the remaining part of the project as a resu
lt of a negative perception.
"Any delay will put the project at greater risks."
To another question if the special investigation committee's findings would be made public, he there had been no plans to do so as the report served as a guideline for the state. - By Audrey Dermawan, NST >
‘MBPP hired resident engineer for Bukit Kukus project’
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) appointed a resident engineer and an independent checking engineer even before the start of the Bukit Kukus paired road project, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“If you see the action taken by MBPP, they understand their technical insufficiency in terms of a geotechnical engineer. That’s why in the contract, they required the main contractor to appoint a resident engineer, who was paid by MBPP to monitor the project on MBPP’s behalf.
“The independent checking engineers were also paid by MBPP. So, it was a measure taken by MBPP even before the start of the project, knowing that this is a big project.
“They did not have the capacity to monitor the project as they have only two or three engineers who have to be looking at other matters besides this project.
“So, they took action to appoint a resident engineer as well as independent checking enginners to act on behalf of MBPP,” he told reporters at the Penang Development Corporation Chinese New Year celebration at the PDC office in Bayan Lepas yesterday.
Chow also said the state would wait for the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) report first.
“We will leave it to DOSH’s findings. Let DOSH come out with the report and we will take the necessary action after that,” he said.
Asked if MBPP had to bear necessary compensation for families of the victims of the landslide last October, Chow said MBPP had not received any claim so far.
Chow was asked to respond to the Consumers Association of Penang’s (CAP) call for stern action to be taken against the wrongdoers responsible for the tragedy.
CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris in a statement yesterday said: “While we welcome the investigation committee’s findings as to who is responsible for the tragedy, we are concerned that apart from recommending the blacklisting of the contractor, consultant and independent checking engineer from any tender consideration for future projects, it appears that no further stern action has been recommended.
“In particular, we want to know what action will be taken against MBPP,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, who headed the investigation panel, was reported yesterday as saying that MBPP and other parties involved in the construction of the Jalan Bukit Kukus paired road project had not adhered to construction and engineering best practices.
Meanwhile, MBPP acknowledged responsibility for the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy as it is the council’s project.
MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the council was not pushing away any responsibility or negative comments on the council and project, and that it would be taken seriously. - By Cavina Lim and Intan Amalina Mohd Ali, The Star
Penang landslide report blames contractor, MBPP and DOSH
The special investigative panel report on the Bukit Kukus landslide had not been made public, but excerpts of the findings were made available by the state.
However, it has raised more questions than answers as the state blamed the contractor, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).
In an immediate response, DOSH Penang director Jaafar Leman denied the department was to be blamed for the landslide.
“We were not even invited to be part of the investigative panel to give our views. How could we be blamed?” he asked.
According to the statement by Deputy Chief Minister 1 Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman who headed the investigative panel, the stop-work order on Oct 17 prevented contractors from entering the site to do maintenance works.
As a result, the temporary toe drain overflowed and water was retained on the reclaimed land contributing to the collapse of the slopes.
“How could a stop order which was issued on Oct 17 contribute to the landslide which occurred on Oct 19?” asked Jaafar.
He said the slopes would have been risky from the beginning as the contractor did not do any mitigation works to strengthen them and it does not make sense to blame DOSH.
The stop-work order was issued on Oct 17 after 14 beams fell in a ravine.
Earlier, during a press conference, Ahmad Zakiyuddin said MBPP and other parties involved in the construction of the Jalan Bukit Kukus paired roads project, had not adhered to construction and engineering best practices.
“The landslide was caused by many factors, which included a temporary construction of a platform to place machinery which was not constructed properly. The temporary platform was created to allow heavy vehicles lift beams for the paired road project.
“MBPP, as owners of the project, had failed to ensure all the hired parties carried out their job.
“MBPP had failed to hire a professional engineer for temporary works to design and supervise the site,” he said yesterday.
Ahmad Zakiyuddin said another factor was the downpour in the morning of the day of the landslide.- The Star
Kudos to Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin for holding the four parties accountable for the Bukit Kukus landslide tragedy. The inquiry still begs a lot of questions, e.g. why was the contract given to Yuta Maju from Terengganu? Could the accident have been prevented if a proper EIA was done? It is not just a "bureaucratic hurdle" but supposed to identify risks and advise mitigation. If the authorities wish to go on with the project, it is not too late to commissi... See more
“This is no simple incident as nine deaths resulted from it. Very stern action must be taken against the MBPP, and that includes strong disciplinary action against the mayor and officers responsible.
“Otherwise, it will be business-as-usual in the MBPP as the officers will be allowed to go scot-free with impunity.
Dubious honours: (Above) Former Penang Island City Council mayor Patahiyah Ismail with the trophy and certificate for Best Municipal Manager awards in 2013 while her Seberang Prai counterpart Maimunah (pictured here with the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his aide Wong Hon Wai) received the same latter award in 2014
