GEORGE TOWN: Government leaders should not protect errant contractors and civil servants who fail to do their monitoring and supervision work professionally at the expense of the public, former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng said.
The Bagan member of parliament and Air Putih assemblyman said the government had no business to let off either contractors or government servants who allowed equipment to be damaged or ignored broken materials on the first day they were opened to the public.
"This is unacceptable! The government's duty is to put the interests of the public ahead of civil servants or contractors who fail to perform," he said in his latest Facebook posting.
His statement came after Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the contractor of the Gurney Bay project would undertake any repairs at the site following Guan Eng's claim of shoddy work in phase one of the project.
Yesterday, the former Penang chief minister posted pictures on Facebook showing defects at the Gurney Bay project site and questioned the quality of the work.
He said phase one of the Gurney Bay project was riddled with cracks in the concrete, and questioned the original plan, design, supervision and quality of work.
He said the RM247 million spent on the Gurney Bay project, which comprises two phases, should have ensured an international standard recreation park.
The park was opened to the public on Sunday.
In an immediate reaction, Chow told his predecessor that the damage liability period of the project meant that the contractor was responsible for repairs at the site for two years.
Guan Eng said the complaints were not only from him but the public as well.
He added that phase one of the Gurney Bay project, costing a total of RM 247 million, had on the very first day of its opening, exposed cracked concrete slabs on the ground and broken ropes on the children's playground that could have caused harm to children.
"Yes, so far only RM58 million has been paid to the contractor under phase one with the remainder RM189 million of phase two still to go.
"But if work done can be damaged and broken immediately upon completion after RM58 million has been spent on phase one, how much confidence can we place on the contractor to do the remaining works of RM189 million in a fit and proper manner?
"How was a contractor with such poor performance able to get appointed in the first place for such a major project costing RM247 million?
"This park by the sea in Gurney Bay, the first of its kind in Malaysia, was first mooted and proposed reclaimed land set aside when I was the Penang chief minister. The public hopes that phase two of the project can be better but its performance so far leaves no cause for optimism," he added.
Guan Eng said he was aware that the contractor was responsible for all defects for two years under the contractual requirement of the Damage Liability Period.
"However, this requirement neither absolves the contractor from doing a proper job nor gives them a licence to do shoddy work merely because they can make good later.
"Fortunately, no children were injured by the broken ropes in the children's playground. Imagine the trauma if children sustained injuries due to broken ropes," he said.