Mosque deprived of maintenance
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

This beautiful mosque, in use for only two years, already needs urgent repairs

Buckets to catch leaks

Faulty pipes inside

Continued deprivation of scheduled maintenance and repair works of buildings here may cause complexes to deteriorate further, warned building experts. They said the longer the deprivation, the worse buildings become. In the end, there would be no choice left but to abandon them.

Furthermore, with longer maintenance deprivation, such buildings may need to undergo extensive repairs and in extreme cases, they may need to be brought down and rebuild from scratch.

The latest landmark in town, the Mukim Tamoi Mosque at Mile 1 Jalan Tutong, is suffering a similar predicament.

Even though the mosque has been used for about only two years now, lack of maintenance may cause the complex to further deteriorate.

Frequent mosque-goers pointed out there is an urgent need to make repairs as water is seen leaking at places and buckets are used to receive the leaking rainwater.

In several parts, the leaks had even created holes, whereas a hose had to be used to direct water from the ceiling to a drain.

Some doors could no longer be used, while another had been taken off and blocked with plywood.

Mosque-goers also pointed out that some water pipes at the ablution area were defective while a few of them did not have any pipes at all, presumably taken away or fell off.

"Some minor repair works at least need to be done on this beautiful mosque. Prolonged deprivation of maintenance may cause the mosque to deteriorate further, which would require extensive and major repair works.

"At present, small works are needed for immediate attention and rectification," said a mosque-goer.

The mosque caters for the religious needs of villagers in Mukim Tamoi and its surrounding areas.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin