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YOUR OPINION | ‘It could be one of us driving near a road under construction some day …’
Three dead after crane fell from construction site onto car
IndigoKite6964: It’s the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang (Suke) elevated highway again! Which means no lessons were learned.
How much does a human life cost? RM80,000? RM100,000? Is that what builders will be fined for this mishap?
How will you ensure that no more lives will be taken as you build this causeway? It could be the next one in our lives when we use the roads affected by this construction.
They are lives that are wasted unnecessarily. Bring in external auditors or name another company that is competent enough to do the job.
For our sake, I hope it’s not another backdoor deal after greasing up some palms or one that involves political funding.
If it comes to light that this job was awarded for corruption, then the politician involved should be held responsible for the accidents and deaths as well.
GoldenParrot4280: This is the third major accident in Suke. In the first, a wrought fell on a car. The driver was very lucky to be alive.
Second, a collision involving to trailer and the elevated road support / scaffold caused one structure to collapse (two were killed). This was initially attributed to the overloaded trailer.
In the first accident, Ministry of Works Fadillah Yusof said that the main contractor and the subcontractor for the particular segment of the Suke project were fined RM180,000 for failing to ensure safety at the construction site.
The second accident should still be under investigation. If there is negligence or wrongdoing of any kind, I hope the authorities will take strong action.
I think the government should also consider imposing more severe penalties. Making it hurt so much that construction companies would be forced to improve safety standards.
Come on, we’re talking lives here! It could be one of us driving near a road under construction one day.
Appum: Too many tragedies in a short space of time reflect some serious shortcomings when it comes to heavy engineering.
Certainly, the relevant authorities, such as the Ministry of Public Works, the Construction Industry Development Board, and major contractors, should be held accountable for such negligence. More so, if it occurs in the same construction of the elevated road.
Surely there must be problems of incompetence and negligence. We only hope that the victims and their families will sue these organizations for compensation, although no amount of money can restore lives and eliminate the suffering and great pain of those involved.
Vijay47: You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that roads and highways need to be closed while moving heavy machinery, especially on elevated platforms and columns.
In the aftermath of Suke’s earlier accident, there were several video clips from the site. What was shocking was that the flow of traffic was allowed to continue and worse still, almost within touching distance of the fallen concrete beams.
What if the vibrations from the vehicle had caused more weakened pillars to collapse? Blaming an act of God?
P_Moms: Another fatal construction accident. How will the relevant authorities respond, or rather, what is your excuse this time?
I hope the name of God is not drawn into this mess. The increasing number of accidents in one of the most dangerous industries is alarming and worrying.
A friend, who lives in a condo just behind the crash site and witnessed the entire gory spectacle, said he couldn’t bear it.
This is extremely sad for the immediate families of the dead. What a way to leave for a loved one.
I am furious with these construction companies and the indifferent authorities. There are serious security problems on these sites that need an immediate and adequate solution, that is clear.
Ketupat 4444: When an accident happens, everyone gets angry, but this is nothing new in our country. There are many parties involved and specifically blaming a subcontractor or prime contractor is the easiest way.
Why do these accidents keep happening? You don’t need to look very far; Just look at how Singapore is managing its construction projects and its no-nonsense approach to all stakeholders – it has proven to be an effective solution.
The question is, what prevents Malaysia from adopting Singapore’s best construction practices? The answer is as clear as blue sky, and for an obvious reason, it cannot be implemented here.
Ravinder: The repeated occurrences of these accidents reflect the inability of the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) to ensure strict compliance with all rules, regulations and procedures for all construction sites.
After the setbacks, injuries, and deaths of innocent people, only then will Dosh descend on the scene to search for the cause? This is complaint management only! If there are no accidents, do you consider that everything is fine?
When accidents happen, they do an autopsy. But for what? Do the authorities care and know that prevention is better than cure? Dosh must be held responsible.
VioletFish0943: For the way things are being run in this country, we must thank God that it is not happening much more often. Is there any enforcement of the law?
What can we expect when we barely have a functioning government? We think the rakyat won in 2018. It turned out to be a hollow victory.
We chose traitors who jumped in to satisfy their insatiable craving for money. How much longer will the rakyat need to put up with these unscrupulous people?
New day: When does another accident, especially on construction sites that lead to fatalities, end up being one more accident? Is it this?
I’m sure there will be a lot of hot air coming out of the relevant authorities in the coming days and weeks, the contractor will be fined, hopefully the families of the deceased and the injured are duly compensated, and then what? Will the normal situation of little supervision and lax security continue?
Go. Every time these preventable deaths and injuries occur, we reaffirm our status as a third world country.
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