Depending on Skilled Foreign Workers

By Mary Chin & James Sarda
PEMBINAAN Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd – the main contractor for the ongoing construction of two flyovers at two intersections along Jalan Lintas (Jalan Lintas-Kolam in Luyang, and Mile 5.5 Jalan Tuaran-Lintas in Inanam, Kota Kinabalu) – has to depend on more than 150 skilled workers from China and the Philippines to get the jobs done.

This is in addition to 100 local workers.

The Chinese workers hail from various provinces, namely Hunan, Hu Pei, Jilin, Liao Ning, Shan Dong, Yun Nan, Nei Mongol, Hei Long Jiang, Si chuan, Zhe Jiang, Shan Xi and Jiang Su.

Project Manager Victor Voo said all have attended the necessary Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Green Card Training Course for Construction Workers conducted by the CIDB Sabah Office.

Which means all the construction personnel are duly registered and accredited with CIDB as required under the new CIDB Act 520 (Amendment 2011) which came into force on June 1, 2015.

While the China workers are involved in major civil and structural works in the construction of the flyovers, their local counterparts are assigned to road, pavement, drainage and relocation of utilities works while other foreign workers are given general labour and maintenance jobs such as grass-cutting, debris and inline drainage cleaning, patching potholes and others.

“It is easy to pick up the ropes of the trade even for freshies. The CIDB course contains the basic and fundamental of construction work together with all the rules and regulations. And for those who have at least two years’ experience in the construction industry in different disciplines, the course is definitely an advantage,” Voo said.

Voo is full of praise for the well-disciplined China workers, saying they are hardworking, punctual, responsible and industrious construction personnel.

“Basically, they start work at 7 in the morning. When they work, they really work their guts out.

Fiddling with the hand-phone, chitchatting or tea-time in kedai kopi is out of the question.

“And I also notice that when we are scheduled to carry out an inspection at 9am, they are already on site by 8.30am,” he said.

The project is now 58pc complete and will take about 30 months in all.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held in January last year. “In fact, we are on schedule as we are practically working round the clock,” he added.

News source: Daily Express