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CITY HALL is keeping an eye on the public lighting along roads in Taman Likas Jaya and the State Capital, to ensure that the public in these parts of its rating-area are not unduly inconvenienced by the poor illumination or other streetlight-related irregularities.

A spokesman for the agency’s Engineering Department said its electrical contractor had been asked to make regular checks of the streetlights on Lorong Kenari 5, Lorong Kenari 4 and Jalan Jesselton.

He said sections of the 16milimetre aluminium PVC overhead line along the two Likas housing roads was found to have to have snapped in two.

“The contractor’s personnel replaced three spans of the cable which amounted to a total length some 180metres in,” he said. 

The spokesman said the severed cable on Lorong Kenari 5 looked as if it might have been damaged by strong winds which sometimes preceded the heavy rains in the State Capital.

“The overhead line could have caught on one of the trees during a downpour.  Our technicians also noticed that, in many places, the brightness of the lights was being obscured behind long branches and thick growth of leaves.” 

He said these observations, as they related to Lorong Kenari 5, were forwarded to City Hall’s Landscaping Department. 

A Department spokeswoman said a team with its Tree Unit, subsequently, dealt with the greenery along a 271.6m span of the latter stretch.

“Eight of our workers, some armed with chainsaws, pruned those branches which had encroached into the airspace of the lights along the road,” she said. 

“A skymaster and eight-tonne open truck was deployed to facilitate this effort.”

When asked how often the trees there were trimmed, she said such maintenance was carried out on an ad hoc basis, as and when it was needed.

“Nevertheless, in the interest of ensuring that the streetlights remain operational and in good order, our staff have been asked to keep an eye on the condition of this greenery and to deal with any irregularities accordingly.”

The spokesman said a check of its records showed that a Taman Likas Jaya rate-payer had contacted the agency about the streetlight-woes on Lorong Kenari 4 almost a year ago.

“The same homeowner reported the lack of illumination on Lorong Kenari 5 in December,” he said. “In both instances, our technician was informed about her concerns and the streetlight woes were dealt with shortly thereafter.

“We suspect that the lights may have failed again after this. For whatever reason, however, they were not attended to until recently.”

The respective contractor had since been chided for the months’ long delay in settling this case, according to him.

“We have asked the individual to buck up and be more prompt in fulfilling his/ her responsibilities, when it comes to looking after the lights in this part of Likas, so that such a hold-up does not recur.

“Our senior staff will be monitoring the contractor’s progress to ensure that he/ she complies with these instructions.”

Regarding Jalan Jesselton, the spokesman said an inspection of the agency’s assets near the JQ Central commercial centre was carried out a few days after City Hall was contacted by the media.

 “Our staff found that a pole supporting our overhead lines in the area was damaged,” he said. “Some inconsiderate driver must have run into the structure as it was bent over at an awkward angle.”

He said the contractor, tasked with looking after the lights in this part of Kota Kinabalu, returned that same night to remove the affected pole.

The individual’s technicians also double-checked that the lights there were functioning as they should.

Sabah Electricity (SE) was initially informed about what had transpired on Jalan Jesselton.

A SE spokesman said it was helpless to intervene on this matter as the pole in question, as well as the cables supported by it, did not belong to the company.

“The most we could do was inform City Hall about the driver’s concerns,” he said.