S Samy Vellu has been Works Minister for so long that one wonders whether he is indispensable.

Judging from his usual arrogant replies to complaints, I feel he should at least be transferred to another ministry which would not upset Barisan Nasional's rules concerning heads of coalition parties.

His combatant style shows either he is fed up of dealing with complaints or he feels he cannot be challenged for whatever reasons known only to BN leaders.

I am sure a new Works Minister would be a breath of fresh air and come up with new ideas to solve all the problems. At least, he will be more willing to listen to complaints and constructive suggestions instead of Samy's 'I know best' attitude.

The public has this perception that he is too protective of the contractors involved in problem-ridden projects because of cronyism. The again, maybe his outbursts are a result of being blamed through no fault of his?.

The public also has this perception of major contracts being overpriced because of the many layers of interested parties getting a cut. The end result is that the contractor responsible for the actual building of the project is so lowly paid that it is almost impossible to do a good job without cutting corners.

If this is continues to be done at the expense of critical areas of construction, it is only a matter of time before disaster strikes.