How I became part of iconic Penang Bridge project

By Jaswendar Kaur | MALAYSIA |

I had just finished High School and while browsing through the local The Star newspaper when I saw an advertisement for a clerical position at the Penang Bridge Project and quickly applied for it.

We did not have a house phone back then. So the office manager Mr Freddie Ng came personally to our house and requested that I go to their site office for an interview.

The next morning, I took the yellow bus to Sungai Nibong, got down opposite Universiti Sains Malaysia in Gelugor and walked to the site office. It was muddy and dangerous as lorries made their way in an out of the site. I looked around, it was not very pleasing and wondered how I would be able to work there.

I asked for directions and the driver who was seated at a small booth pointed to the grey wooden offices to the left. I walked up and found the manager’s office where we talked for about an hour while he explained to me about the project. There were the bridge plans and markings on huge plans of work in progress on his wall and he proudly showed where we were at in 1982. Package 1 and 2 which were groundworks on both Penang and Butterworth side were almost completed.

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I was told that the clerical position was actually a typist job at the Chief Engineer’s office to assist the secretary. She was overloaded with transcribing, typing and handling calls to her office. I was taken to see her and be introduced and I felt a little nervous; this was a happening office and I was to work and assist Anna. Later, I was brought to the Admin room which was larger than Anna’s room.

Here, I was introduced to Mr Kunjappy who was the chief clerk, En Nordin, office supervisor, Ms Emily who was the accountant and Mr Teoh, the general clerk. There were other rooms at the back but we did not go there, it was a conference room and another Engineer’s room. There were 2 blocks of offices for JK Sea/HNTB, a set for Hyundai Engineering offices, another for Malaysian Highway Authority office (LLM). These offices were equipped with furniture, office machines, a pantry and rest rooms.

After seeing all of these, I said goodbye and again took the bus to get back to town. A few days later, the land cruiser driver came by with an offer letter. I had been offered the job and were to wait at 7.30 am the next morning for the driver to pick me up.

Our company, JK Sea Sdn Bhd, were partners with Howard Needles (HNTB) from the United States and we followed Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM)’s work schedule.

On Fridays, we broke for lunch at 12.15pm till 2.45 pm just like government employees. Ong took us to town where we spent our time from noon till 2 pm at the shopping malls either window shopping or eating. It looked like we were on the road most of the day but back then, traffic in Penang was not so heavy so we enjoyed the rides. Working half days on Saturdays was not too bad.

Now, let me tell you something on the bridge building from my layman perspective as I am not an engineer. How was the piling done in the big sea you may ask? First, the site was marked by surveyors who adhered strictly to the Specification of Works, then the location was cordoned off by planks of wood. Sea water was pumped out while the sand and mud sucked out so the area was clear for the piling work to begin.

What happened to the sand and mud which was removed from there? Well, it was deposited to the right side of the bridge. Today you see 2 small islands when you drive from Butterworth towards Penang and these islands, over time, have trees growing on them. I am thinking of having picnic at one of the bigger islands on my next trip to Penang. Perhaps get a fishing boat to take me there. However, on my last trip in December 2020, one island had disappeared.

Work on the bridge was done on large barges which could withstand thousands of tonnes of weight. The piling machine, the cement mixer and the workers supervised by the Engineers were all on these barges working day and night to meet their deadline. Once piling was done for one location, it started on other locations and this was repeated. The work was difficult, but these experts made sure it was done correctly, accurately according to the specs laid out by the architects and engineers. Later, both vertical and horizontal beams and columns were placed and attached to each other with tons of scaffolding.

When driving on this bridge for the past 35 years, I’ve always felt proud that I was once working for this project with famous engineers, surveyors, materials technicians, office staff, drivers and our counterparts from South Korea and America.

I proudly give respect and honour to Mr James Lichty (the Chief Engineer), Mr Scanland, Mr Evans, Mr Norman Lozovsky, Mr Liaw, Ir Patrick Huong, Ir Chin, Ir Lim, Ir Poh, Mr Venkatasen, Mr Saw SJ, Mr Sundra, Mimi, Lilian, Karen, Fatimah, James, Hen FW, Arabi, Ong and Lim.

Jaswendar Kaur, born and raised in Penang, now a full-time funny mum after retirement who is busy writing about her experiences and memories. More stories can be read at writer’s website (http://jaswendar.com)

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