KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 – Wetlands International Malaysia Chairman Datuk Keizrul Abdullah has described his contribution to the construction of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) project as his greatest ‘gift’ to the country after nearly 50 years in the engineering field.
Keizrul, 73, was named the 2024 National Engineering Icon at the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) Awards and Appreciation Dinner Thursday night, recognising his immense contributions to the nation’s engineering field. The award was presented by Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
Speaking to reporters after receiving the prestigious award, Keizrul expressed his gratitude for the recognition in reflecting on his career, which began in the 1970s.
“As an engineer, it has always been a dream to work on mega projects. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to ‘gift’ the country with the SMART Tunnel project, which to this day, no other country has implemented a similar project,” he said.
Recalling the inception of the SMART Tunnel idea, Keizrul said it was initially proposed to then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad due to Kuala Lumpur’s frequent flooding issues.
“Tun Dr. Mahathir asked me how often the tunnel would be used for flood control, which led to the idea of building a tunnel that could also be used as a road when it wasn’t managing floodwaters,” he explained.
