Trouble for two mega projects in Langkawi

Two mega projects, involving building of luxury hotels, in Langkawi did not follow construction regulations.

LANGKAWI: A joint operation between the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) with several other agencies in Langkawi yesterday found two mega projects on the island resort did not observe construction regulations.

The projects, one in Penarak and the other in Telok Yu, involved the building of luxury hotels.

In the inspection at the construction site in Penarak, all the construction workers were believed to have fled while in Telok Yu, out of the more than 20 construction workers who were checked, 10 were detained by the Immigration Department for not possessing valid travel documents or for overstaying.

Kedah/Perlis CIDB director Sharifudin Che Omar said investigations into the two sites found that all the sub-contractors were not registered with CIDB while some of them who did not fulfill the conditions for the green card, which is the compulsory personal identification card for foreign workers.

Speaking to reporters here today, Sharifudin said the operations were aimed at increasing the level of awareness on the part of employers and workers on the quality and safety aspects at construction sites.

The surprise joint operations also involved more than 20 officers and members of the Immigration Department, the Langkawi Tourism Local Council, police, Department of Safety and Health, and the Malaysian Construction Academy.

Meanwhile, deputy director of the Langkawi Immigration Department, Mohd Nasir Ahmad said during the operations, 10 foreign workers were arrested, with eight being detained under Section 15(4) of the Immigration Act for overstaying and two more under Section 6(3) for not having a pass or permit.

Aged between 21 to 39 years, two of the workers were Pakistan nationals and eight from Indonesia.

Meantime, the construction site in Telok Yu was not registered with DOSH under the Machinery and Heavy Machineries Act and if found guilty, the contractor could be fined up to RM50,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both.

– Bernama