KUALA LUMPUR: A GROUP of pothole-fixing bikers, also known as the “Ikatan Silaturrahim Brotherhood”, will continue voluntarily fixing potholes on the streets of Kuala Lumpur despite drawing the ire of certain quarters, including City Hall (DBKL).
The group’s spokesperson, Azlan Sani Zawawi, also known as Lando Zawawi, said they were committed to carrying out their volunteer work.
He said the group was not damaging roads but were doing something that could save the lives of motorcyclists, as it ensured that pothole-ridden roads were repaired to prevent accidents.
“We will keep on doing it. We are not doing it for fame, to show off, brag or take away the jobs of those in DBKL. We are doing it for the safety of road users,” Azlan Sani told the New Straits Times.
For the past six years, the group has been using their own money to repair potholes here, in Selangor and Malacca, under what they term “Operation Brotherhood”.
They spend up to RM2,500 covering 30 potholes.
Many quarters, including KL Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib, expressed unhappiness over the group’s activities.
Phesal said it was not right for members of the public to carry out such works, as it was under DBKL’s purview.
Azlan and his gang of bikers are unfazed by such criticism.
He said the group did not want to prolong the issue and wanted to avoid being confrontational with the authorities.
“We see this as a serious issue. I, personally, have lost seven biker ‘brothers’ because of road accidents, with three of the deaths attributed to potholes,” said Azlan, adding they were willing to cooperate with DBKL and the Public Works Department to solve the issue.
When commenting on the occurrence of pothole-ridden roads and the biker group, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said some agencies had failed to patch up roads here after digging them up for repair or upgrading works.
He said DBKL had instructed these agencies to patch up the roads after performing their work, but its instructions were not adhered to.
“This is a problem between DBKL and several agencies, such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Telekom Malaysia Berhad and Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor,” Tengku Adnan told reporters when met after presenting school bags and pencil cases for pupils of Putrajaya schools.
He said reminders were sent to these agencies to resurface the roads that were dug up, but no action was taken.
“That is why a group decided to patch up the potholes voluntarily, even though we have asked them not to do so.”