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Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

BKI Runway Lights Are Out

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KKIA runway to resume operations tonight

 

October 26, 2012

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — The runway at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) will remain closed to night operations until 10pm tonight while Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) continues to rectify the issue of malfunctioning runway lights.

The Corporate Communications Division of Malaysia Airports Berhad said in a statement that efforts were being made to install a backup portable lighting system to enable restricted night operations.

Further updates will be made in due course as soon as the backup portable lighting system are in place, it added.

KKIA was closed last night after its runway lights malfunctioned, forcing several incoming and outgoing flights to be cancelled or rescheduled and leaving many passengers stranded. — Bernama

 

 

Not quite there yet folks ! :)

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Looks like the RMAF brought in some portable lights for the runway from KCH. Hopefully some flights will commence after 10pm, however delays and retiming will continue til tomorrow.

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Dang! Meaning departed around 7.30am in the morning. Great sunlight today. :(

Yeah, that would be about the time I saw an OZ'ish thing flying off from way off distance

Missed rare opportunity to catch that elusive night time visitor in KK daylight :)

Guys, it seems that OZ is not taking any risk and tonight's flight from ICN to BKI is delayed for more than 7 hours. The new departure time is now 2.20am from ICN :D

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KOTA KINABALU: The nation's second busiest airport resumed night operations at about 10pm yesterday with a dozen aircraft landing and taking off shortly after some of the runway lights were repaired.

 

Earlier, the runway of Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) remained dark for a second straight night as engineers raced to install portable lights to allow planes to land and take off.

 

The airport authorities had sought the assistance of the Royal Malaysian Air Force which flew in a team to help install the temporary portable lights along the runway. It was installed by 9.30pm.

 

Malaysia Airports Bhd (MAB) and its engineers had been trying to figure out what triggered the runway lights to black out since 6.20pm on Thursday, leaving at least 4,000 passengers stranded with 40 flights cancelled, delayed or diverted.

 

The runway was opened for flights in the morning but was shut down after 6.30pm yesterday due to failing light.

 

“We do not know what caused the fault,” said an airport official.

 

The official said it could be due to an internal cable or circuit fault and had nothing to do with power supply from Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd.

 

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun demanded that both the MAB and Department of Civil Aviation explain the latest fiasco to hit the airport.

 

Masidi said MAB was unable to provide answers to the runway light problem and did not know when it would be rectified.

 

“This is an issue of great concern to Sabah. This should wake up those in authority. The Transport Ministry and MAB must ensure it does not happen again.

 

“It is not just about repairing the lights. There are many other issues involving the airport,” he said.

 

As the busiest airport in the country after Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Masidi said it was unthinkable that the airport did not have a back-up plan for the runway lighting system.

 

Airport officials said the lighting problem had occurred in the past but they were not serious.

 

They said the runway extension project had been delayed for more than two years.

 

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/27/nation/12235795&sec=nation

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Transport Minister Orders Probe Into KK Airport Runway Blackout

 

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 27 (Bernama)-- Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha has called for an investigation into the runway blackout at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Thursday that forced the cancellation of flights and left many passengers stranded.

 

He said no one would be spared in the probe and warned of stern action against the "careless party", whether they were individuals, the local authorities or the airport operator.

 

"If there are elements of sabotage in the outcome of the investigation, then a police report will be made and the case will then be handled by the police," he said in a statement released here Saturday.

 

Kong said he was extremely upset with the whole situation that had caused a lot of uneasiness and anger among passengers who had planned their long weekend to celebrate Aidiladha with their families and loved ones.

 

The minister also urged the airport operator to ensure that the Emergency Response Plan (ERP) was in place to avert any repeat occurrence.

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Bear in mind this is the same Minister for Transport who said he would 'talk' to Tan Sr Red One about necessity to shift from T2 to T1 at BKI, so as not to disrupt overall redevelopment plan of said airport

That was at least a couple of years ago - maybe they are still talking, we joe public dunno what has been decided, just that status quo has been maintained so far

 

So, this investigation that has been ordered, with threat of reprisal(s) towards the "careless party", you can just see where it's heading :D

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This is even better!

 

 

Build second international airport, urges SAPP

 

 

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has proposed that a second international airport be built in Labuan.

SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said in a statement that the proposed airport should ideally be built in Labuan which is an International Offshore Financial Centre.

He added that the trip to the state capital would be shortened with the construction of a bridge linking Labuan and the mainland.

The statement was issued following the shutdown of Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Thursday night.

“If the two facilities are in place, the massive damage and inconvenience due to the closing down of KKIA could have been alleviated,” said Yong.

He said passengers could be diverted to Labuan and driven back to Kota Kinabalu and other mainland destinations.

Yong said a serious incident such as the malfunction of the runway lighting system at the airport should not have happened and affected passengers should be duly compensated.

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Are our politicians so bankrupt of ideas or are they really so keen on challenging our intelligence during this run up to GE13 ?! :)

Worst fear is he actually believes in what he is saying, bearing in mind that he was our CM in some point in time and presumably had made some decisions for and on behalf of the state !! :rolleyes:

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Are our politicians so bankrupt of ideas or are they really so keen on challenging our intelligence during this run up to GE13 ?! :)

Worst fear is he actually believes in what he is saying, bearing in mind that he was our CM in some point in time and presumably had made some decisions for and on behalf of the state !! :rolleyes:

 

Logical or not it means project, and someone can get rich.

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This is even better!

 

 

Build second international airport, urges SAPP

 

 

 

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) has proposed that a second international airport be built in Labuan.

SAPP president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said in a statement that the proposed airport should ideally be built in Labuan which is an International Offshore Financial Centre.

He added that the trip to the state capital would be shortened with the construction of a bridge linking Labuan and the mainland.

The statement was issued following the shutdown of Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Thursday night.

“If the two facilities are in place, the massive damage and inconvenience due to the closing down of KKIA could have been alleviated,” said Yong.

He said passengers could be diverted to Labuan and driven back to Kota Kinabalu and other mainland destinations.

Yong said a serious incident such as the malfunction of the runway lighting system at the airport should not have happened and affected passengers should be duly compensated.

 

Got to be kidding! The distance between KK to Labuan (even with a bridge) is further than Tawau - Semporna. We are talking about an hour or more's drive in car. Are you folks keen enough to drive that long!?

 

May be he should try proposing a shift to of the state capital to Labuan instead! :D

Edited by S V Choong

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May be he should try proposing a shift to of the state capital to Labuan instead! :D

Geography lesson update - Labuan now no more a territory of Sabah state :D

Wonder where Datuk Yong proposes the new airport to be built in Labuan ?

Perhaps fill up the gap between island and mainland for runway, which can also double up as proposed 'bridge' - one stone, two dead birds :D

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Geography lesson update - Labuan now no more a territory of Sabah state :D

Wonder where Datuk Yong proposes the new airport to be built in Labuan ?

Perhaps fill up the gap between island and mainland for runway, which can also double up as proposed 'bridge' - one stone, two dead birds :D

 

Yes, I know, our former Chief Minister Datuk Harris was so generous of foregoing Labuan in the past during his tenure. You never know... in politics, they can make it happen :)

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Got to be kidding! The distance between KK to Labuan (even with a bridge) is further than Tawau - Semporna. We are talking about an hour or more's drive in car. Are you folks keen enough to drive that long!?

 

Actually driving from KK to Labuan is nearer than driving from KK to Tawau/Semporna. There's airport in Labuan with fewer than twenty flights a day (mostly MASwings ATR72-500 flights).

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Actually driving from KK to Labuan is nearer than driving from KK to Tawau/Semporna. There's airport in Labuan with fewer than twenty flights a day (mostly MASwings ATR72-500 flights).

SV was talking about Tawau to Semporna, not KK-Tawau :)

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KKIA blackout: Not much will change — A. Kadir Jasin

 

Oct 30, 2012

 

I have to say this to the Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Yee Moh Chai, BRAVO. And I will foolishly join him in calling for heads to roll over the recent two-day runway blackout at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).

 

BRAVO from me is all that he is likely to get for his gallant effort. And I am foolish to join him in the call because in Malaysia, heads do not roll. More so now that the airport operations are back to normal.

 

It appears that heads of ministers, board chairmen, Chief Secretary to the Government, secretaries-general and department heads are so securely attached to their necks and shoulders that they cannot be easily chopped off.

 

Ministers, board chairmen, Chief Secretary to the Government, secretaries-general, department heads, managing directors and chief executive officers are seldom held responsible and punished. They will always have somebody or something to blame.

 

So, in the case of the KKIA runway blackout or, in the terminology of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, “not up to the required brightness” I dare say that no heads, big or small, will roll.

Already, the MAHB has squarely blamed the fiasco on faulty transformers to leaking cables.

 

It has happened before

Remember the blame game when the radar station at the old Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Subang caught fire in 1994 and two other fires in the two years before that?

 

Then parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang had called for an emergency sitting of Parliament to debate the radar station fire and whether then Transport Minister (Tun) Dr Ling Liong Sik and then Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Zaludin Sulong should be removed.

 

Ling has gone and the much of the DCA’s airport roles have been taken over by MAHB. But has anything changed?

 

If the Subang Airport fires were old stories, what about last month’s hour-long radar failure at the KLIA in Sepang due to electricity supply problem?

 

And what about the more recent multi-billion ringgit losses at the enlarged Sime Darby Berhad?

 

Yes, several top executives were charged in court and found guilty of corruption and criminal breach of trust. But did anybody at the board level take responsibility? The answer is no.

 

Top civil servants, corporate executives and board members protect each other. Despite the former Prime Minister (Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s best efforts to change the attitude of civil servants during his 22-year rule, little has changed.

 

Soon after the 1994 Subang Airport fire, Dr Mahathir lamented that government officers had a long way to go in shedding their bureaucratic mindset and that although the Look-East Policy was implemented 10 years ago, people do not change so easily, adding that incompetence of airport officials led to the radar breakdown despite two earlier incidents.

 

If anything, the improvements seemed to have peaked and the quality of public services is on the decline. Look at the ficus (jejawi) trees hanging from buildings and flyovers in Kuala Lumpur and other so-called cities in the country.

 

The last mayor of Kuala Lumpur who evokes any kind of positive memory was (Tan Sri) Elyas Omar. Even he was prodded by Dr Mahathir, who made a habit of driving himself around the city every weekend and passing on feedback to Elyas and other officials.

 

Today, we have many more cities and many more mayors, but we hardly remember any of them because they are just glorified “pentadbir” (administrator) without any kind of leadership or vision.

 

Look at how dirty and unkempt Kuala Lumpur is these days! Alor Star, Ipoh and Penang (all cities) are no better.

 

Even Putrajaya, apart from the continuous multi-million upgrades of Sri Perdana and Sri Satria, the prime minister’s and deputy prime minister’s official residence respectively, the administrative centre has started to fall into a state of disrepair.

 

Promises made but many undelivered

While I thank Putrajaya Corporation Berhad’s new president (Tan Sri) Aseh Che Mat for his assurance that conditions and security at Putrajaya’s numerous recreational parks would be improved, I take the promise with a pinch of salt. Civil servants and their political masters are superb at making “janji” (promises). Fulfilling them is a different matter.

 

The Auditor-General’s Report 2011 had complained about the less-than-satisfactory security and upkeep of the parks.

 

In short, Sabah Deputy Chief Miniser Yee is naïve if he seriously believes that heads will roll just because he called for it and the KKIA had seen the last of its runway blackouts.

 

The government is not keen to punish civil servants and heads of corporations because they are powerful, more so in the run-up to the general election. Instead they are being rewarded with bonuses and better service terms.

 

Since (Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s solitary “raid” on the Immigration Department in the early days of his rule in 2003, we have not heard of ministers making surprised checks on government departments and district offices. Wallahualam. — kadirjasin.blogspot.com

 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.

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Just when you think the case of jet engines theft from heavily armed RMAF base, the only heads to roll were of a sergeant and a major. In KKIA case, perhaps tukang cuci lantai or tukang potong rumput.

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LABUAN, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- The Federal Government today extended an apology to passengers who were left stranded at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) last Thursday and Friday following a blackout at the runway.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the government viewed the matter seriously.

 

"We apologise to them because we know at that time, many were waiting to go home to celebrate Aidiladha but were forced to wait at the airport.

 

"We are very concerned about this; maybe the Transport Minister can give a report on what actually happened and the outcome of the investigation. The investigation must go right to the root as we do not want it to happen again," he told a media conference here today.

 

Muhyiddin, who is on a one-day visit here, noted that the Sabah government had equally expressed its concern through a statement by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman who called for a thorough investigation on the incident.

 

"I also obtained information that the Transport Ministry has already asked for a complete report from the airport management, either Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) or the the airport operations contractor. But what is important is that we must establish the faults, who was responsible and what needs to be done so that the problem does not recur," he said.

 

MAB on Saturday was quoted as saying that 51 flights had to be diverted, delayed or cancelled for two nights, which affected 6,000 passengers.

 

Nevertheless, the situation was restored to normal by 9.30pm on Friday with the installation of new cables and lighting, and portable electrical power supply backup.

 

On the delay of the KKIA runway extension project, Muhyiddin said it would also be raised during the cabinet meeting on Friday.

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