KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists in Malaysia have long suffered from badly maintained and pot hole-riddled federal roads. Traffic congestion and road accidents are making road journeys increasingly intolerable and uncomfortable.
The bad news is it looks likely that they will have to wait longer for a smoother and safer ride, following a statement by Works Minister Baru Bian recently that budget constraints were hampering efforts to fund maintenance of federal roads nationwide.
He said the ministry could not carry out maintenance effectively as it was allocated only RM100 million for the upkeep of federal roads nationwide in the 2019 Budget.
He said since 2015, the federal government’s allocation for the maintenance of federal roads had declined relative to the actual cost of maintenance, which was about RM2 billion a year.
In Perak, poorly-maintained roads include Jalan Ipoh-Butterworth in Kuala Kangsar and Jalan Simpang Empat-Bagan Datuk in Hilir Perak, which are accident prone.
Perak Public Utilities, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Plantation executive council member Abdul Yunus Jamhari said these roads would be given first priority by the state government to ensure that they were fixed.
“The state government will hold a discussion with the Perak Public Works Department soon to further discuss the matter.
“Faced with budget constraints, we will focus on fixing roads that are the busiest and most in need of repair. We do not want to see more accidents.”
In Sabah, a poorly-maintained road is Jalan Telupid-Sandakan, which many motorists claimed was dangerous and in urgent need of repair.
Sabah Public Works Department director Richard Jomiji Kinsil said due to budget constraints, the department could only carry out routine works (not related to road maintenance) and do temporary road patching works.
An online petition was launched in December to fix pothole-riddled roads. It garnered thousands of signatures.
Richard said there had been efforts to patch small potholes along the route, but they did not last.
“The stretch is really hazardous due to the presence of potholes and poses a danger to speeding motorists.
“The department has put up signs telling road users to slow down to 60kph.”
Another road needing work is Jalan Sapulut-Kalabakan, which is severely damaged due to over-loaded logging trucks plying the route.
The 145km-long road was upgraded in 2015, but motorists only enjoyed a smooth and pothole-free ride for a few months.
Now, they have to slow down as there are about 20 gravel roads along the route, which adds three more hours to the normal travelling time.
Another problematic road frequently highlighted on social media is Jalan Sapi-Nangoh, which connects rural areas in northeast Sabah with Kudat and Sandakan.
In Sarawak, seven federal roads are severely damaged and require an estimated RM15.8 million for major repair works.
Sarawak Public Works Department assistant director (road and civil engineering assets) Awang Mohd Fadilah said the roads were Jalan Bintulu-Tanjung Kidurong in Bintulu; Miri Airport Junction-Puchong Roundabout; Jalan Deshon in Sibu; Jalan Datuk Bandar Mustapha, Jalan Tun Razak and Jalan Kuching-Serian in Kuching; and Jalan Serian-Tebedu, which is a major route to West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and frequently used by Malaysians and Indonesians to cross the border.
He said much of the damage was caused by overloaded heavy vehicles, such as construction lorries.
“As for routine maintenance by concessionaires, there has been no issue thus far.”
In November, Miri Mayor Adam Yii raised his concern that no budget was provided by the federal government to the state Public Works Department to continue maintaining 72km of “protocol roads” in the city.
In Johor, about RM2 billion is needed to implement road maintenance and upgrading works on federal roads in the state.
Johor Public Works, Infrastructure and Transportation Committee chairman Mazlan Bujang said the priority was on upgrading the Batu Pahat-Kluang road (federal road FT50) and widening the Pasir Gudang Highway.
He said the state government had submitted to the federal government a list of road development projects that need to be implemented in Johor.