The collapse of professionalism

NST Online » Columns
2009/06/04
EDITORIAL: The collapse of professionalism

WHILE Terengganu Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said has wasted no time in announcing that the state government will investigate the collapse of the roof of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor has also been quick to divulge that the Construction and Industry Development Board is putting together a team to search for the cause of the catastrophe. On top of that, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has initiated a probe into the incident. While the alacrity of these proactive measures is to be appreciated, it is to be feared, however, that it might be a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen spoiling the broth. To be sure, since the stadium belongs to Terengganu, there is no question that the state government should be involved. But the scale of the cave-in and the reverberations from the collapse make it very much a national disaster, and not just a localised one. Likewise, the manner in which the contract to build the stadium was awarded should be looked into. However, while there is no question that there should be a full-scale, thorough and independent investigation to get to the bottom of things, it does not make sense to allow separate probes that push, pull and shove in different directions.
Whatever the case may be, we won't have the answers until the investigations are completed and the findings are reported. But as Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pointed out, when new buildings collapse just like that, "it does not show professionalism". And in the construction process, while the architects and engineers are as much hired hands as the carpenters and bricklayers, the responsibility for the integrity of the structures that are put up is ultimately theirs. In the first place, they prepare the designs and the building plans. They also supervise the construction at the site and certify that work has been completed in accordance with the approved plan.

Of course, contractors, sub-contractors and the building control authorities are not always blameless. But every time a building turns into a heap of rubble, we also lose a little more of the trust that we still have for the expertise and ethics of the architects and engineers. It is time for the professional associations and the statutory bodies to step up and act on any failure to carry out their duties with due care and diligence in accordance with the laws and ethics that govern their professions.