MELAKA: The recent earthquake in Indonesia has warranted an immediate structural evaluation of multi-storey government buildings in the state, the Melaka legislative assembly was told on Tuesday (Mar 1).

       Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali (Lendu-BN) said the move to ensure the safety of government buildings was reached following structural cracks suffered by the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) building at Ayer Keroh here due to the magnitude 6.2 earthquake that shook West Sumatra province on Friday (Feb 26).

       The earthquake had so far claimed 11 lives while 400 were injured. Rescuers in Indonesia are still continuing to search for survivors.

       The tremors were felt as far as Singapore and Malaysia.

       Sulaiman, who is also the Melaka Chief Minister, said new cracks appeared from level one to level eight of the LHDN building due to the tremor and he had ordered operations to be temporarily halted until it was declared safe by the relevant authorities, especially the Public Works Department.

       "I have directed for all government buildings in the state to have a structural integrity check," he said.

       Separately, Sulaiman told the assembly that the gross domestic product (GDP) had been impacted severely by the Covid-19 pandemic.

       He said the state GDP fell to -5.9% (RM41.03bil) in 2020 from a positive 2.9% (RM43.61bil), recorded in 2019.

       Sulaiman said the economic situation had led to an unemployment rate of 3.1% registered in the state, for the first quarter of 2021.

       However, he told the assembly that the unemployment rate in the state was still lower than Putrajaya and Selangor.