“As if the fiasco over the appointments of native chiefs and village heads are not bad enough, it has now surfaced that the Water Department has invented written tests for water pipefitters and pipelayers,” he added.
Yong said that as a result, out of the 2,123 pipefitters and pipelayers registered in Sabah, only a meagre 104 have been given licences. To make matters worse, these 104 licences will expire after May this year.
The Director of Water Department has revealed that out of the 2,123 registered water pipefitters and pipelayers, only 724 people have applied to be licensed. And out of these 724 applicants, only 174 sat for the Water Department tests of which only 104 persons passed.
“This means, based on the Director’s own revelations, at least 724 pipefitters and pipelayers want to continue their work and livelihood in the water industry. As only 104 have been given licenses, at least 620 of these self-employed working men are now out of work. As these are breadwinners who have families to support, the government must promptly, without any further delay, overcome the non-issuance of licences to these working men.
“The Director should not be surprised that some of the 2,123 registered pipefitters and pipelayers are inactive. Just like the transport industry, the number of taxi licenses issued over the years is more than the number of taxi drivers still plying the trade. Likewise, the number of lawyers registered in the Advocates Rolls is more than the number of lawyers in practice. The same goes to engineers, doctors and other professions and occupations. This existence of inactive tradesmen should not be a reason to force the active working people to sit for tests.
“Not passing the new written tests does not necessarily mean that the pipefitters and pipelayers are not capable. For example, some competent motorists might not pass the Highway Code if they sit for Driving Tests again. Some qualified lawyers might not pass today’s law school exams.
As for the written tests, pipefitters and pipelayers are better at hands-on practical work rather than passing exams in classrooms. That is why some of them became pipefitters and pipelayers in the first place. To suddenly deny a license to these working men who have been in the industry for more than 10 years is a gross injustice inflicted on them by their own government.
It is generally known that Sabah has a shortage of pipefitters and pipelayers. With only 104 now licensed by the department for the whole of Sabah, the shortage has now been artificially aggravated by the Water Department. This will inevitably lead to delays in the construction sector which has earlier been hit by the mysterious ban and new restrictions on sand mining. All these bureaucratic mess will further dampen economic activities in Sabah.
“It is long overdue that this government gets its act together and stop its habit of governance by “trial and error”. Government officials should come down from the ivory tower and do things that make life easier for the rakyat,” said Yong.
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