RM292 mil stadium goes to the scrap, says MP

The biggest stadium in the East Coast which once hosted the Malaysian Games or Sukma in Terengganu in 2008 is now slated for demolition and will be rendered out of use.

This was revealed by Terengganu PAS commissioner Abdul Wahid Endut, saying he had been informed that the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak (pic), constructed in 2008 at a cost of RM292 million, will be completely demolished following the collapse of its roof in June 2009.

"The stadium can't be used any more. It has to be demolished and rebuilt from scratch," he said during a forum on consumerism in Kuala Ibai last weekend.

"The same is the case with the supermarket building near the bus station. Completed but cannot be used," said the Kuala Terengganu member of parliment, referring to a shopping mall in the state capital which began construction in the 1990s but was only recently completed. Fears over its safety however led to the building being rendered useless.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that theft of properties from the abandoned stadium complex amounted to some RM50 million, a figure disputed by Menteri Besar Ahmad Said despite admitting cases of theft at the site.

Earlier, Wahid spoke out at the state government's failure to repair the destoyed stadium despite spending RM2.2 million for consultancy services.

The ill-fated stadium was designed to seat 50,000 people. The collapse of the roof has been largely blamed on design fault and inappropriate building materials.

-Harakahdaily