Market steps repaired

The most convenient market for me to visit in Bukit Mertajam is the Kampong Baru market. If I were to walk there, the market is just a mere 1.2 kilometres away. But normally in the morning, I would drive and park there. Sometimes, it would be along the main road, the Jalan Kampong Baru, or sometimes I'd choose to park at the back of the market, somewhere in Taman Perpaduan.

Because of the crowds leading up to Chinese New Year, I had been finding myself parking in Taman Perpaduan more often than not. And then it would be a short walk along an unnamed road and up a flight of metal steps to reach the market.

In February when I was climbing this flight of steps, I had found that some of the steps were rusting away and were in danger of collapse. A user would have to step gingerly on them. For me, there was no problem because I was already aware of the impending danger but I also knew that a lot of other users, especially the senior marketing ladies, may not be. The metal steps were their connection to the market. I was actually fearing for their safety.

I decided to inform the authorities. But who should I contact? The Province Wellesley Local Council? Or the State Assemblyman (or in the case here, the State Assemblywoman)? Between the two, I decided to contact the State Assemblywoman. No point being elected a State Assemblyman or Assemblywoman if he or she does nothing to help the constituents.

So I dropped her a whatsapp message on 27 March: "Dear Saudari Heng, it will be greatly appreciated if you can look into replacing this flight of steps at the back of the Kampong Baru market which is rusting away and posing a danger to people climbing it daily to get to the market." She responded with an emoticon as an acknowledgment.

Then at the beginning of April, I saw that one of the shaky steps had already given way. Some kind soul had attempted to warn users by pasting pieces of paper on the railings to say "be careful" but what good would these pieces of paper do if nothing else was done. And it wasn't just this particular step that had collapsed. One or two more were going to collapse soon. People who continue to use this metal structure would have to lift their legs high to climb up or down two levels of the steps. It was dangerous.

So on 4 April, I sent another whatsapp message to Heng Lee Lee: "Dear Saudari Heng, please note that one of the steps has collapsed and many others are also in danger of collapsing too. Your immediate attention will be very appreciate." This time, I got a longer reply, no emoticon but a worded reply: "Saudara Quah, my office will call you regarding this issue. Thanks for informing me the update."

(By the way, she used to be one of the political secretaries of Lim Guan Eng when he was still the Chief Minister. But in the last General Elections (GE14), she was elected to represent the Berapit state constituency.)

But I never did receive any call from her office. Several times, I would walk to the back of the market to see whether any repair had been carried out but there was none. No visible work had been done.

Getting concerned whether our elected representatives were doing their work or not, I shot off a third message to her on 12 May: "Good morning, Saudari Heng. I wish to provide a small update here. Since my message to you on 4th April, no work has been done yet to repair the metal steps. I have also not been contacted by your office. Hope the repair work can be initiated soon. Regards."

This time, her office did contact me. Within an hour or two, a lady called me to explain that yes, they had been looking into this matter. They had called for tenders and were in the process of appointing a contractor for the job. And yes, they hoped to complete the repair work soon. Alright! My persistence has not been in vain.

Then on 5 June, I made another trip to the back of the market to look at the steps. Would I be disappointed? As I approached the steps from afar, I noticed that it sported a fresh coat of paint. It was no longer the dirty brown but light green. My hopes suddenly lifted. Had the steps finally been repaired? Yes! I was told later by Heng's office that the repairs were done on 16 May. The rusted step had been replaced and all the other metal pieces and the frame had been tightened up.

Of course, having seen through this episode from start to finish, I had to drop my State Assemblywoman a final message to thank her: "Dear Saudari Heng, I notice that the metal steps have all been replaced. Thank you very, very much. Regards." She replied with a brief "thanks" and a thumbs-up emoticon.