A THREE-STOREY building was being constructed without any permits required by law, yet authorities did not know about it until the building collapsed, taking along the life of a migrant worker.
How do we explain this?
As reported, the Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) has confirmed that the three-storey building at Jalan Bukit Senjuang in Banda Hilir which collapsed yesterday afternoon was constructed without permission from the local authorities.
And this total, blatant disregard for the building laws in the country was only discovered upon the building collapse and death of a worker.
The mayor said a check revealed that the privately owned company did not submit any construction application to the local authorities.
The eluding question is, don’t the authorities check on all buildings which are being constructed to ascertain if laws are violated?
If “discoveries” are only made after a disaster of a building collapse or the death of workers, one wonders what is the actual state of the countless buildings scattered all over the country.
And what is a RM50,000 penalty served on a violating building owner when the value of such a structure could easily be well above half a million ringgit?
This incident certainly does not add up.
Hopefully, the federal government will not sweep the case off as a “state government matter” but rein in all those responsible for making sure our buildings are all compliant with the volley of existing laws and ensure us that accountability is not being given a mere window dressing. – October 13, 2024
J.D. Lovrenciear, an Aliran member, is a KL-based writer, trainer and consultant, who also offers his time to support initiatives to build a progressive society