Updated: Monday September 30, 2013 MYT 8:27:15 AM
Another roof collapse in Terengganu

By JOSEPH KAOS Jr

Close shave: The roof of the Kampung Tebauk Mosque in Bukit Tunggal which had collapsed.

KUALA TERENGGANU: The roof of the Kampung Tebauk Mosque in Bukit Tunggal here collapsed, just five months after the roof of another mosque came down in Hulu Teren­gganu.

Yesterday’s collapse, which happened at about 4am, affected about 20% of the place.

The two-year-old mosque was built at a cost of almost RM6mil.

Mat Man, who is the bilal (the man who makes the call for prayers) said he arrived at about 5am yesterday to prepare for subuh (dawn) prayers for the congregation when he found that the foyer’s ceiling had collapsed.

“I had arrived at the mosque, opened the gates and switched on the lights, as people would come soon for the subuh prayers.

“When I entered the foyer, I saw there was rubble. I looked up and realised the ceiling had collapsed,” said Mat, 61, who lives nearby.

Mat said the ceiling had been intact the night before. He suspects that the roof collapsed early in the morning.

“I asked some of the villagers who live next to the mosque and they told me they heard a loud crash at around 4am,” he said.

He said the foyer section where the roof collapsed was not used for performing prayers although some people would pray there when the mosque was full such as on Fridays.

Built in January 2010, the mosque was open to public on Oct 24, 2011. It could accommodate about 1,000 people at a time.

The collapse was similar to the one at the Kampung Binjai Kertas mosque, where the ceiling of the entrance collapsed in May. It barely missed several villagers who were performing prayers then.

In October 2009, the roof of a mosque entrance in Kampung Batu Putih in Kertih, Kemaman, collapsed and injured three Indonesian workers.

That incident occurred only a few months after the roof of the RM300mil Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin stadium collapsed.

The stadium was in the spotlight again in February when five workers were injured while dismantling its roof after its steel supporting structure gave way.

The Public Works Department said the building contractor and the supplier of the roof were not the same as the ones that built the Kampung Binjai Kertas mosque.

State JKR director Datuk Shafii Mohamad, however, said both roofs had used a similar design and materials.

“We have informed our headquarters in Kuala Lumpur of the incident.

“They will send a forensics team over before Tuesday (tomorrow) so we can investigate the cause of the collapse,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

He said the contractor and the design of the mosque were approved by JKR.

“There is a 10-year warranty period for the roof. Since it is now damaged before the period is over, the supplier will be held responsible and the contractor will be asked to rebuild the roof,” he said.

Shafii said other sections of the mosque were deemed safe and the villagers could continue to use the mosque.

At a separate function, Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Said expressed his disappointment over yet another roof collapse incident in the state.

Ahmad Said said he had asked the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commis­sion to find out whether there were elements of corruption in the construction of the mosque.

The Star Online

Monday September 30 2013.