“All ministries should set aside funds to maintain their infrastructure, including government buildings, said Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor...”
Does it mean all these years there were no provisions for maintenance of government buildings?
I have noticed time and again, poor maintenance followed by a bigger contract to renovate, giving the impression that it was deliberate where poor maintenance is concerned.
As a teenager, I used to be impressed with AIA building in Jalan Ampang, especially years later when the building maintained its original state. Many newer buildings look worse off after only a couple of years.
Some government buildings are real waste of public funds. For example, each time we travelled past this new building built by the Ministry of Youth near Tronoh, nobody could be seen. Somewhere nearby on the other side of the highway is what was left of some buildings and water sports facilities built for some SEA Games some years ago.
Near Sultan Yussuf school in Batu Gajah, there is an abandoned training place which had been renovated a number of times for a number of reasons but left unused.
The new Batu Gajah railway station was completed a few years ahead of use. When my son visited it for the first time, the first thing he noticed was the fading sign boards. I have yet to confirm, but getting off the train from KL, for example, someone using a wheelchair will have great difficulty crossing the overhead bridge. I really hope there is a gate which can be opened by the guard if there is a need, because it is approachable by road on the other side.
The residents have yet to stop complaining about the location which requires own transport or taxi fares which cost even more than the train fare for BG-KL! Given the choice, I am sure the people would prefer a simple station which is convenient, like the old station.
The bus station is still 80% under-used while the market made the same mistake as that of Tg. Tuallang which has an unused upper floor.
I think the basic problem seems to be decision-makers used to spending public funds (not their own), who opted for bigger projects for reasons best known to themselves, even where there was no justification.
The new Majlis building looks grand but to overcome complaints about its distance, the post office accepts payment on their behalf. The post office building is another unfriendly one, which looks grand but pity the old folks, like myself who had to climb the steps. To overcome that, a lower ground level counter was opened but due to poor response, was closed.
If I were to mention the new clock tower, I would sound like an old record playing the old tunes!
But I like playing old tunes, so for those who did not get my earlier complaint, the clock tower had been redesigned upon initial completion, to include the dome shape top. The initial digital clock was found to be unreadable against the morning sun and was replaced with a conventional one with four faces. But for a certain period, it did not work until recently. Guesstimate costs in the region of a few hundred thousand, unless someone can convince me otherwise.
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