Friday, May 01, 2009

Labour Day blues (Maintenance Day)


Asset maintenance is, to put it simply, the culture and practices of maintaining or keeping assets and properties in good shape. It is an established culture in most developed nations.

Here in Malaysia we just build and build, but we never really think of how the properties and assets constructed would be maintained to ensure that their usage would bring about the optimum benefit as intended and (most importantly) be hassle-free and do not endanger the public in any way. After all, who would want to own or use a building with piping which leaks continuously or ceilings which fall down on peoples’ head.

The spate of problems at public institutional buildings last year served to highlight this lack of maintenance culture in Malaysia. First there was the embarrassing leakage at our iconic Parliament Building. And then this was followed by leakages (again) at the Immigration Department Headquarters in Putrajaya and the ceiling fall-down at the Ministry of Entrepreneurs and Cooperative Development building, also in Putrajaya.

Hopefully, these high-profile cases would bring about the much needed change especially after all the hues and cry by just about everyone from the former Prime Minister Pak Lah, to parliamentarians (yes it was debated in Parliament forcing certain male MPs to apologize for their un-called for sexist remarks – only in Malaysia) and down to the men in the street.

But I digress.

Coming back to the topic of this posting, I just want to highlight how much I’m ‘enjoying’ this one-day break afforded by the Labour Day.

You might be thinking that I would be lying in bed or just sprawling in front of the television in the living room. Fat chance!

For it has been ordained by the Mem Besar that Labour Day equals Maintenance Day for the Azizi household :- (

You see, there are a couple of leaking taps in the house. It has been so for the past few weeks, I might add. And then there is the railing for the langsir pintu bilik air to be put in place (the Mem bought that last month). The pokok dedap in front of our house needs extensive pruning to prevent the thorny branches from poking some small kids in the eyes when they play under it. Finally there is the staircase parquet waiting to be varnished. Hmmph…I must have bought the varnish paint two months ago now, and this is my own project. So I can’t complain much there.

So, despite it being Labour’s Day it’s a slogging day for poor old me.

Doesn’t the Ministry for Human Resources have some law or something to protect a worker from being forced to work on 1st May?

3 comments:

KotaStar said...

Ya a good complaint on yr part. To whom? Certainly not to mem besar. I believe it is more to our lack of care or training for maintenance. I would agree that the family choose ONE day or several days in the year for maintenance. Ya banyak yang perlu kita uruskan> Kemas rumah, baiki perabot,cuci longkang, buang sampah/ daun di atas bumbong, buang tahi cicik, tabur ubat anai-anai,polish lantai dan berbagai lagi.I feel the whole family could come together for the 'spring' cleaning.
Salam

Azizi Ahmad Termizi: said...

Pak Non

Not so much a complaint, it's just me having self pity for my own self :-)

But you are right, if we have the self discipline to take care or maintain our stuffs on a regular basis then we'd be spared of the trouble of breakdowns and need for big-scale spring cleaning. The problem (and challenge) therefore is to instill that discipline.

The Ceramic Designer said...

assm again abang uncle!! ;)
congrats on the 1978-blog..

AZMAN AHMAD TERMIZI: 12 Januari 1964 - 30 Julai 2022

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