Kota Kinabalu: The situation at Wisma Dang Bandang returned to normal Friday, with government staff given the green light to report for work as usual, following a ceiling collapse incident on Thursday.
The government building houses several agencies, including the Immigration Department, National Anti-Drug Agency, Statistics Department, Meteorological Department and Information Department, among others.
Sabah Meteorological Department Director Amirzudi Hashim said his staff came back to the 7th floor office as usual Friday.
“In fact, there was a misreport by some media about tremors here yesterday (Thursday).
“The department did not detect anything, nor did any of us feel any tremor. However, there was a thud sound coming from the collapsed ceiling,” Amirzudi said, adding that during the evacuation, only the staff from Wisma Dang Bandang building were evacuated.
State Fire and Rescue Department Assistant Director of Operations, Misran Bisara, said based on the department’s assessment, the building is safe for use.
“There are no cracks, and the electricity supply and elevators are functioning properly. We can say that it is safe based on the Fire and Rescue Department’s standards.
“As for the building structure, it will depend on the assessment by the State Public Works Department,” he said.
Misran added that the tremors felt by the staff were due to the fallen auditorium ceiling on the 11th floor.
He also assured that the Meteorological Department did not issue any earthquake alert during the 3pm incident, which saw hundreds of staff being evacuated.
“Perhaps it is due to the old structure of the building that caused the ceiling to collapse,” Misran said.
Wisma Dang Bandang, which is a 38-year-old building at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, is named after the wife of Sabah freedom fighter Datu Paduka Mohammad Salleh Datu Balu or also known as “Mat Salleh”.
