YOURSAY 'We don't hear the people responsible getting arrested or taken to court. Is it okay to erect buildings that can collapse?'

Serdang Hospital ceiling comes a-tumbling down again

Ratbatblue: Has any worthwhile action been taken against the respective contractors, all those involved in mishaps at government buildings, apart from suspending them temporarily?

After a month of lying low, they will resurface and bid for another lucrative contract, and being cronies, these contracts will be theirs for the taking.

Some minor patch-up jobs will be done at the original sites and all is forgotten until the next mishap occurs. Then the whole cycle is repeated.

Never mind the cost in human terms. We have heard of this scenario from acquaintances involved in renovation works in schools, etc, where sub-standard work has been passed fit and the building gets occupied, waiting for the next disaster to happen.

This is typical third world mentality in a third world country. How are we going to achieve developed nation status/high income nation accreditation with such antics?

Must somebody die before eyes are opened?

Not Confused: This kind of incident happens so frequently here in Malaysia, stretching from Terengganu to Johor and it highlights very clearly how buildings are constructed either with sub-standard materials, or using sub-standard methodologies.

This is a direct effect of siphoning off of construction funds from the point of contract award, down to the poor contractor at the end of the line who is tasked with carrying out the construction work, with only a small percentage of the original contract cost to work with.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the whole of Malaysia gently sliding into the sea or sinking into a big sinkhole due to such activities. BN has a lot to answer for.

Podeh: Malaysia will soon record its first hospital death caused by "ceiling fell down". Endless possibilities here in Malaysia Boleh.

Supercession: The whole hospital should be demolished and rebuilt. And Umno should be forced to pay for that.

Onyourtoes: Who is paying and doing the reinforcement and the repair? I hope there will not be patients dying due to ceilings and roofs falling on them instead of the illnesses they were admitted for.

Siang Malam: Soon, the whole hospital will collapse. When corruption leads to poor building materials and lead to approval of poor workmanship, this is what we get.

One day, a VVIP will have a ceiling somewhere fall on him, that's to be expected.

NH Gong: Isn't it time to seal off the hospital?

Armageddon: It seems like everywhere we have buildings or roofs collapsing. But till now, we don't hear the people responsible getting arrested or taken to court. Is it okay to design or erect buildings that can collapse?

MinahBulat: This happens so regularly that it is hardly newsworthy. Hospitals are necessary, and dear Malaysians, perhaps bring a helmet when you go to a government hospital especially this one.

People go to hospitals to get cured. But at this hospital, there is also a high risk of injury. This is Malaysia, the land of endless possibilities.

Chipmunk: Jack (Umno) and Jill (Ministry of Health) went up the hill, to fetch a pail of water, Jack came tumbling down, and Jill came running after.

The Department of Occupational Safety and Health should issue a stop-order to the Ministry of Health and investigate this matter.

But at the end of the day, the conclusion is that some Umno crony got a mega-contract and subbed it out to a cheap and shoddy contractor to do his dirty job. That is the same case for many of Umno's mega-projects.

Freemsia: Typical of Malaysian government projects. Projects are given to sub-par crony contractors who then take a huge cut of the contract value and then sub-con it to another contractor.

With the low price, how to expect the sub-contractor to do a good job with quality materials? Malaysia, Truly Corrupted.

Intheair: Our hearts go out to all those who work in this hospital. In addition to work stress, they have to suffer constant mental stress anticipating the next collapse.

CiViC: So what's new? This is becoming so common that no one should be surprised to walk into a government hospital without ceilings.

Dont Just Talk: The government should name the contractor who built the Serdang Hospital and blacklist him from all future Class A projects.

Was the contract given to the contractor on the basis of "you scratch my back and I scratch your back, ala Malaysia-style of ‘lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu'? (You help me, I help you).

MockingYou: Who built this piece of trash and who refurbished it after the first collapse? And who signed the certificate of fitness? Facts please, for some good ol' trashing.

Funny 1M: Serdang Hospital should change its name to Ceiling Falling Hospital.

It should have a signboard outside: ‘Personal protective gear needed to enter'.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.