Many Sabah roads are too old: Road concessionaires can’t be fully blamed, says Shahelmey
Published on: Friday, January 19, 2024
Shahelmey and Hiew
Kota Kinabalu: Road concessionaires cannot be fully blamed for poor road conditions in many parts of Sabah, says State Works Minister Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.
He said while concessionaires mostly carry out maintenance works as required, many of the roads are just too old.
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“The roads that were recently repaired to welcome the outgoing Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and his entourage during the Borneo road tour are actually ‘expired’ roads,” said Shahelmey.
He said these roads have already exceeded their life span, and require major upgrading works.
Shahelmey said this in response to allegations of poor workmanship on the stretches of roads used by the King during the road tour here in September last year, as potholes were seen in many areas of these “newly fixed” roads just a few months later.
He said the heavy traffic along many of these roads in Sabah and constant rain resulted in the already damaged roads deteriorating further.
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“Even with repairs conducted to fix the potholes, the problem will recur due to the above said reasons,” he said.
Shahelmey said the State Works Department is teaming up with concessionaires in maintaining roads in Sabah and in ensuring that the conditions are safe for road users, while waiting for the Pan Borneo project to start and be completed.
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Issues of Sabah’s terrible conditions were highlighted once again after a garbage truck driver died while allegedly trying to avoid hitting a huge hole in Kinabatangan on Jan 13.
Mohamad Izuan Mambasang, 39, succumbed to his injuries following the 11am accident at Jalan Kampung Jaya Baru, near SK Sentosa Jaya.
Immediate repairs were carried out on the stretch of road after this incident.
Meanwhile, former Kota Kinabalu MP Datuk Hiew King Cheu said Sabah road concessionaires who failed to ensure safe potholes-free roads should be replaced as a deterrent, and the responsibility handed to the Public Works Department (PWD) for greater accountability.
He said Sabah is becoming notorious for shoddy roads, including stretches along the new Pan-Borneo Highway, with potholes left neglected for so long until they developed into mini ponds.
“This has become a joke in the social media and regularly highlighted in newspapers yet the problem was not seriously viewed. Roads are meant for safe driving and not for murder.”
Hiew noted that there was no excuse in delayed repair of treacherous road as competent contractors would have the funds to repair first and claim later.
“Not knowing the bad road is also not an excuse because there should be constant monitoring. Moreover, many civil servants also use the road and should have noticed the defects,” he said.
He stressed that only by PWD taking over the responsibility would perhaps resolve the problem.
“At present, there is also public confusion on who is responsible for a particular road. Is it the concessionaire, PWD or the local authority? People have to go on a merry-go-around to file a complaint.”
Hiew also said it was surprising that the Sarawak Pan-Borneo Highway did not have the same problems.
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