Ignore structural safety at your peril
First Published: 9:46pm, Jun 18, 2013
Last Updated: 12:21pm, Jun 19, 2013
Just Say It' by Maria J Dass
A Wifi tower built near SK Seri Suria in Taman Tan Yew Lai and close to houses. DBKL has not clarified if approval had been granted for the tower.
Wifi
tower built at the edge of SK Seri Suria in Taman Tan Yew Lai and close
to houses. After two months, still no answers from DBKL as to whether
app
IT WAS heart wrenching to watch the misery of families who lost
their loved ones in the tragic incident in Penang last week where a
lightning arrestor on top of the Menara Umno fell during strong winds
onto Jalan Macalister.
Two people died and several others were injured in the incident
which also caused massive damage to vehicles and surrounding properties,
in addition to creating a crater in the road where the body of hawker
Lim Chin Aik, who was driving past in a Honda City, is believed to have
been trapped.
It was painful to watch his family look on as the wreckage of his
car was pulled out, and I would not wish the same even for my worst
enemy. But the possibility that something of this magnitude happening
seems to slip the minds of approving authorities once too often.
Even more disturbing, former Penang state executive councillor Dr
Teng Hock Nan is quoted in a news portal as saying: "At the time of
construction, the architect and engineers could not have foreseen that
it would fall.
"There are many other buildings with such structures too, but as
long as the architect is responsible and willing to pay the fine if they
do not comply with the guidelines, procedures and building plan, it is
acceptable. We had strict and transparent guidelines and procedures
during that time."
How can this be acceptable!? And if the guidelines are strict and
transparent, how can those responsible for ensuring that the structure
is safe, be allowed to negate their responsibility by just paying a
fine? What about compliance to the guidelines?
I know that the report on the above incident is yet to be
completed, but to hear such a statement from a former Penang Island
Municipal Council (MPPP) president and former state executive councillor
in charge of local government is of great concern.
Have thousands of similar structures out there been "approved" in similar fashion, or worse - never been approved at all?
This incident affects me personally. It was just two months ago
that I raised my concerns with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) over a
telecommunication tower (more than 50m tall) that had been erected next
to my family home and more than a dozen other houses in Taman Tan Yew
Lai.
In a letter to the authority and my call to the complaints line, I
had enquired if the tower had been approved, who approved it and who it
belongs to, among others.
More importantly, I had raised my concerns over the safety of the
structure which has been built at the edge of the SRK Seri Suria school
field and along a brick fence which had collapsed in the past due to
soil erosion.
Two months later there is still no response and Thursday's incident
makes me shudder to think about what could happen if the guidelines in
place have not been followed where this tower is concerned.
All the information I have to date is that the tower is a 4G WiFi
tower that had been built for the "Sekolah Bestari" (Smart School)
programme, that too from the office of Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal
Abidin, former Federal Territories and Urban Well Being Minister.
However, Raja Nong Chik's officer could not assure me of the safety
of the tower and stability of the ground it had been built on, saying
that was a question for DBKL to answer.
I'm still waiting, DBKL.
In the meantime a check with Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ)
councillor and planning lawyer Derek Fernandez indicates that the MBPJ
usually informs and consults residents in an area prior to erecting such
structures, but this is hardly the practice in Kuala Lumpur.
As for the lightning arrestor collapse in Penang, he said all
buildings and structures need approval and there is no power to grant
exemption from building approval for a structure.
The principal submitting person – either architect or engineer – is
fully responsible for proper erection of the structure and all safety
aspects, and if neither of this is in the picture then the building
owner is responsible.
If not due to an act of God, in the event of failure, the engineer is fully responsible, he said.
Asked if Thursday's incident can be construed as an act of God
since the tower came down during a freak storm on Penang Island,
Fernandez said: "In order to determine this, the approved plan and
engineering design must be evaluated to determine if the structure met
the safety margin of proper engineering practices. This also means that
they must have an approved plan for the structure."
In the case of Menara Umno, there are allegations that construction
work on the building started in 1995, but the building plans were only
submitted to the local authority in 1997. If this is true, it brings up
even more questions on whether there was an approved plan for the
structure to begin with.
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