COMMENT Over the traumatic accident involving the late Cikgu Yong Chee Seng, 86, whose car plunged into the 13m-deep hole in front of Sin Chew in Petaling Jaya, and where he died a week later, till now we have not heard the outcome of any investigation being carried out.

Who would have understood the grief of thousands of Methodist Boys whose lives have been impacted by this one man who has endeared himself to many of us.

Knowing him as an extremely careful driver, his car could have taken a nosedive due to his slow speed. As someone pointed out, had he been speeding on the day of the tragic accident, his car would have escaped the pit. His car could still be dangling over the hole.

Instead, along with the car, there were broken pieces of plastic barriers in the pit, evidence of sheer neglect by the parties working at the site that the work site had not been adequately cordoned.

I was also told that the site was just left to a Bangladeshi supervisor and his fellow Bangladeshi workers. There was apparently no local supervisor adequately trained on work safety at the site, when the accident happened.

Although this is clearly a breach of public safety, efforts have not been done to punish the contractor and subcontractor involved. The project is implemented by the Department of Sewerage Services, which comes under the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry as part of the Greater KL project.

Not even a single word had come out from the minister concerned, Maximus Johnity Ongkili. When state assemblypersons Yeo Bee Yin (Damansara Utama) and Rajiv Rishyakaran (Bukit Gasing) urged that a new project consultant be appointed, all that we see is the rhetoric coming from PJ Utara BN chairperson Tan Gim Tuan.

Tan would have done well, if he too had urged a hefty punishment on the parties that were found negligent. No, instead, Tan merely pointed the finger back at the two state representatives.

The accident has happened, the milk has already been spilt, and a life has been taken in a tragic accident that should never have happened, yet no one took any action to penalise the negligent parties. Till now, the contractor (and we know who they are) has just remained silent.

After all, it involves big money - RM200 million to be exact - as it covers Package D47, which includes the Penchala Pantai North sewerage catchment area in the north of Petaling Jaya where the accident happened.

Lukewarm response

One cabinet minister I am in touch with could only respond: “I’m not sure, Stephen. Actually DOSH (Department of Occupational Safety and Health) and the local authorities can take action. CIDB (Construction Industry Development Board) will penalise the contractor upon a verdict imposed on the contractor by the court.”

Sources close to the construction industry tell me that CIDB has no power to even punish the main contractor and sub-contractor which were negligent. “Its job is only to promote the construction industry,” he explained. “The onus is on DOSH which handles safety aspects of construction.”

If DOSH cannot take any action, who can? Where are the other authorities who fail to act? Why are they dragging their feet over this case? Who is the minister in charge of DOSH? Why is Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Jaem saying nothing about the accident?

In the past, when DOSH was under Lim Ah Lek during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time, action would have been carried out very promptly, especially when the media highlighted the safety failure at construction sites.

Now, hardly any cabinet minister even pays attention to National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health chairperson Lee Lam Thye who has suggested that “news of (Yong’s) death has sparked a public outcry, calling for stricter enforcement and action to be taken against errant contractors and unsafe work practices”.

I quote Lee in his letter to the editor to the New Straits Times:

“In the May 3 incident, it was obvious that the accident could have been avoided had the contractor installed concrete barriers instead of plastic ones. The pit for the laying of underground sewer pipes should have been covered and barricaded.

“Far too often, road works are carried out without attention to public safety. This can be seen from lack of safety measures, such as inadequate warning signage and flimsy barricades at worksites. It is time for the authorities to come down hard on them as the safety and health of the public must never be compromised.”

Yet, we have not seen much improvement to the situation on the ground two weeks after the accident happened. Some Old Boys of my school were telling me that along Jalan Ipoh, there were still manholes that were not covered.

One particular one at the junction of Jalan Pandan Aman and Jalan Ampang was of great concern, as it was not barricaded properly and the pit was within a short distance from two schools. Primary schoolchildren are often very curious and a few of them may just wander into the worksite to see if they could catch some fish.

At the time of writing, I am informed by a fellow Old Boy who said that the hole is only barricaded with plastic barriers without the additional concrete ring. This is another danger spot that motorists would have to be careful with.

Meanwhile, for those who are interested to watch the Yong Chee Seng MBSKL Alumni Challenge Cup 2016, the football match involving Old Boys in their 50s will be held this Saturday June 4 (7.30am) at Stadium Merdeka.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.