User:Two hundred percent/Dirtbox/Parliament House
Maintenance issues
[edit]The state of the Parliament House building was highlighted in 2007 following numoerous technical failures at the then newly openned Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex, as various portions of roofings on the Parliament House were reported to have sprung leaks on three occasions between May 2006 and May 2007: The first over the Dewan Rakyat meeting hall, the second over the media room, and the third leak at the side of the hall near the lobby following heavy rain on May 8.
In a May 10, 2007 report released by the Kuala Lumpur Public Works Department's (PWD) maintenance division, problems identified during an inspection of the building include cracks and seepages on the roof, clogged gutters and drainage pipes and failing waterproofing. The report also revealed other signs of neglegance: Leaking sewerage pipes in toilets, damaged expansion joints and a general absence of maintenance work.
The condition of the roof was reportadly severe to the point the entire structure may require reconstruction. Then Works Minister Samy Vellu voiced intentions to include the installation of waterproofing, as well as concealed ceiling equipment for heat protection and, in the repairs.
Following the discovery of leaks, a lack of agreement was apparent among various parties on the accountability of the lack. Public Accounts Committee chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad was among those who claimed the PWD was to hold responsibility for the leak, to which Samy refuted:
| “ | Maintenance of the building has all along been under the Parliament itself, not the PWD. And when there are others carrying out maintenance, we cannot interfere. As Parliament is independent, we cannot order them around. | ” |
As such, the Parliament Department was to be held accountable
Despite having undergone a renovation in 2005, the exterior was not included in refurbishment plans. Samy Vellu stated the roof "was not very damaged" at the time, while Najib admitted the repairs should have been included in the original renovation budget. Both Samy and Najib also explained maintenence of the roof was not carried out as there were neither any request nor any need when renovations were planned and conducted.
||| Samy Vellu also revealed that the 2005 renovations to Parliament House, which cost RM90mil, did not include roofing as it only covered the interior of the building.
Transparency International Malaysia has called for a public inquiry by a parliamentary select committee or an independent commission to look into the leakages. |||
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/20/nation/17786272&sec=nation http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/20/nation/17785329&sec=nation http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/20/nation/17786098&sec=nation http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/20/nation/17786272&sec=nation
Animal slaughtering
[edit]On July 10, 2007, the compound of the Parliament House was used by members of the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) to organise the slaughtering of six cows and ten goats for a feast in the Parliament House 's banquet hall, intended to celebrate Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's marriage to Jeanne Abdullah. Taking place under tents set up at the motorcycle parking zone, some of the meat was also claimed by Larut MP (BN) and BNBBC chairperson Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar to be given to nearby mosques as alms later.
The slaughter was criticised by members of the DAP for various aspects of insensitivity.
- Ipoh Barat MP (DAP) M. Kulasegaran claimed the slaughtering was the first in the Parliament grounds
“This is the first time such an incident has happened in Parliament. Furthermore, cows are sacred to Hindus,” lamented M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat). Kulasegaran then urged the House speaker not to allow such an incident to recur and Ramli promised to look into it.
- Following this, Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) said she was shocked when she saw the animals being brought into the Parliament grounds in a truck.
“If it a common practice, will it be acceptable for other MPs to slaughter ‘other’ animals here?” she asked
Rebuttal
[edit]- SpeakerRamli Ngah Talib "(slaughtering) is a common practice and not unusual during dinners"
- Raja Ahmad
- “We are parliamentarians. Where else can we organise the dinner if not in Parliament? Is it wrong? This is a simple issue, I hope the media will not make it a big issue,” he said.
- “This is first time that a PM has married. In fact this is history and we are celebrating the wedding,” he said, adding that the meat would also be given as alms to nearby mosques.
- Raja Ahmad, who appeared calm in the beginning became visibly agitated when journalists pounded him with questions as to why the slaughtering could not have been done elsewhere.
- tried to justify the incident by saying that slaughtering of cows and goats happened everywhere, including government offices.
Ahmad then tried to justify the incident by saying that slaughtering of cows and goats happened everywhere, including government offices. This lead a journalist to respond: “I believe it is not so. Once they slaughtered cattle on a school ground in Selangor but parents wrote in to object and it was not repeated ever since.” Ahmad just shook his head and refused to comment on this.
- In a related development, BBC member K Devamany (BN-Cameron Highlands) gave his assurance that such incidents would not happen again.
“I was not at the meeting when the dinner was planned, and I got to know about it only a few days ago. Although we cannot undo what has already been done, we can abstain from doing it in future,” he said.
http://www.jeffooi.com/2007/07/omen.php
http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&q=%22Parliament+House%22+badawi+goat&btnG=Search&meta=