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Public Buildings, Facilities In Disrepair
By Ignatius Stephen

The man was perturbed, puzzled, bewildered or whatever term you may use.

"Why can't they all keep in good repair instead of waiting for the big man to come around?" he asked, quite clearly disturbed. "Then, when he is scheduled to appear, everyone rushes' around and things are put right in double quick time," he commented. "Perhaps, at twice the cost too, because it is an emergency," he added.

He was a former senior Shell employee in Seria, now retired, who has come to live in the capital.

Of course, he was commenting on the neglect and state of utter disrepair many of the capital's buildings and other public facilities have fallen into.

In particular, he was talking about the school his little grandson was attending. He was appalled to discover that many of the toilets were not working. But most of all, he was alarmed about the condition of the roof of one of the school blocks.

Some of the tiles had slid down and had plunged to the ground. Others were suspended, as if by a thread, and could have crashed on any student or staff passing by. That would have been a tragedy, indeed.

The school authorities had cordoned off a section of the walkway just below. But that was not enough to prevent some tiny toddler from wandering into the danger zone. And occasionally, some tiles would, indeed, come tumbling, much to the dismay of all. The school authorities did get in touch with the relevant department for urgent repairs. "No budget," was the answer. It was the same with other facilities in the school for years. Repeated efforts reaped no results.

Then, suddenly, one day all hell broke loose. Everyone was seen rushing around. "HM is coming! HM is coming!" they said, as they hurried frantically about. They were quite right. They got wind that His Majesty was about to pay a visit.

The department, who had repeatedly been unable to allocate a budget for the urgent renovations, miraculously created an "emergency fmd" amounting to a few million dollars.

And the money was rushed to a contractor who had to be paid an exorbitant sum, because it was an urgent job. There was the painting, roof repair, broken toilets, crumbling walkways and so many other things.

Had these essential maintenance been done on a regular basis, it would have cost, perhaps, half the sum, not mentioning the danger the children were subjected to because of the state of the roof, for example.

Well, the visit was termed a success. The VIPs were skillfully guided along "safe" areas so that some of the unfinished mess would remain out of sight. "It- is all very strange," the ex- Shell' man commented. "Why wait for HM's visit to put things right?" he asked.

Red tape, sheer inertia, lack of routine planning and laziness could be the answer, a friend ventured to say. It's a criminal waste of the nation's money. Just take a look at the way Brunei Shell maintenance their buildings. There are no broken toilets and falling roofs, he said.

And because of proper maintenance, their structures last a long time. In the capital and elsewhere, brand new buildings including many flats, offices, and schools and colleges fall into decay because-they are not looked after.

There seems to be no systemic upkeep and structures are abandoned after a few - years. If you do not look after your things, they will begin to rot. It is time that we borrow a leaf off Brunei Shell to benefit the nation in this and in so many other ways, suggested the former oilman.

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