KUCHING: Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said the DAP had failed to push for actual improvements to the interstate highway despite putting on an inspection visit to repair a section near Selangau, Sarawak in February.
He said parts of the Pan Borneo Highway remained hazardous to road users despite numerous complaints by commuters.
“The people have repeatedly complained that the relevant road sections are in crisis and in ruins. I have been waiting for this group of people to solve the problem,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Tiong, who is also PDP president, had appealed to Works Minister Baru Bian and his deputies to lodge actual facts in their reports instead of merely delivering verbal anecdotes of the Highway’s conditions.
“I have spent inches of paper on complaints about the bad signages, poor diversions, lack of warning lights, street lights. When are the improvements coming? When will the DAP take this matter seriously?” he asked.
Several sections of the 5,324km from Serudong in Sabah to Sarawak’s Sematan have received varied complaints including damage to utility lines, unsafe construction due to unfinished works and harming local residents’ livelihoods.
“Chinese New Year and Hari Raya have both passed, but the parties responsible for these repairs remain quiet,” Tiong said.
The PDP president added that on the way to Sibu for an event on the Sunday, his own vehicle had been diverted to the wrong direction due to vague road signals and signage.
He pointed out that cursory inspection near Sibu for instance would show hazardous conditions including unclear signage leading to road users driving on the opposing lane while other areas lacked warning lights.
He further urged that the contractors for the vaunted road project should be terminated if they continue to flout safety standards, endangering the lives of commuters.
“The problem has threatened the safety of road users, so irresponsible engineers and contractors and a group of actors in DAP must be answerable to the people and the Parliament” he added.
