Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
KUCHING: Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has slammed the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) for telling the media that the State Stadium does not comply with safety standards without informing the ministry beforehand.
When asked to comment on a news report concerning the matter, Abdul Karim initially said he would not be able to comment as he did not have the information, believing that it might be a rumour.
However, when told that the information came from Bomba, Abdul Karim became quite upset.
“Bomba should have informed us (Youth and Sports Ministry) first instead of going to the media. What is the point of building the stadium and it does not comply with high safety standards? Who gave such a statement? Was it the Bomba chief or other personnel?
“This is very irresponsible. They should bring it up (to us). That is a venue where we hold many events. If they come up with such a statement without referring to any relevant authorities, including the ministry, I think that is a very irresponsible act,” he said, after Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg presented the 34th Sarawak Chief Minister (II) Cup to the organising team of ITF World Tennis Tour (J3 Sarawak) led by Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) president Dato Patrick Liew today.
A national portal reported on Monday that 13 out of 21 major stadiums around the country were deemed ‘unsafe’ because they did not have a Code Compliance Certificate (CCC), otherwise known as a certificate of fitness (CF).
The news report quoted the Bomba’s fire safety division building safety certification section chief Datuk Zamri Che Din as saying that the buildings were over 20 years old, and had failed to comply with safety features pertaining to the CCC, which was important to ensure that a building had the optimum set of safety features, including in terms of wiring, security exits and early fire prevention.
Other stadiums deemed unsafe were Darul Makmur Stadium, Darul Aman Stadium, Selayang Municipal Council Stadium, Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Pasir Gudang Municipal Stadium, Tunku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Manjung Municipal Council Stadium, Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium, Bandaraya Stadium, Likas Stadium, and Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium.