KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — DAP lawmakers will submit an urgent motion to the Parliament Speaker to debate the findings of the Kuala Dipang bridge collapse that took the lives of three children in Perak last month.
The report prepared by the ad hoc committee set up by Perak Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers to probe the matter was handed over to Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang in Parliament today.
Lim will be seeking to file the motion soon despite the Dewan Rakyat having shot down an earlier urgent motion to debate the bridge collapse filed by opposition MPs immediately after the tragedy.
The report listed three key points that led to the collapse of the bridge built as part of the 1 Malaysia camp, a concept created to promote the idea coined by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
It pointed to flawed construction, procedural negligence and the total absence of safety measures to prevent the accident from occurring.
Ousted Perak Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar told a press conference at Parliament lobby that the counterweight of the bridge could only support one tonne or the weight of 20 children.
A standard requirement for a similar-sized bridge should be able to support 900 per cent more than the one built in Kuala Dipang.
During the time of the collapse, there were 23 students on the bridge. PR leaders claimed their probe showed there was no adult supervision at the time of the accident.
The report also revealed that the bridge was built without any authorisation from the necessary departments and the instruction to erect the bridge came from the Kinta Selatan Co-Curriculum Department in Pulau Pangkor.
Pulau Pangkor is the state constituency of the Barisan Nasional Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir.
The report also found that the bridge was built by a Selangor-based company by the name of CWL Enterprise and was donated by another Selangor-based outfit by the name GS Synergy Sdn Bhd.
The findings of the ad hoc committee tally with the admission by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yasin in Parliament last week that the construction of the bridge was illegal.
He said his ministry was currently probing the matter and PR leaders have expressed hope today that their report would help conclude the investigation and bring those responsible to justice.
"We want the government to stop the programme now until the probe is done so that no more pupils will get killed in the future," said Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran, who was present at the press conference.
Show/Hide comments
Show/Hide comment form
