ONE of the tranporter’s most dreaded experiences in Sarawak’s rural areas is a vehicle breakdown in the middle of nowhere in a “dead zone” with no mobile phone coverage.

That is the ultimate nightmare, drivers Matius McDonald, Isac Mutang and Singa Buas, who ply the hinterland of Lawas up to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border, told The Malaysian Insight

Matius said help might not come quickly and with the phone dead, there is no possibility of calling anyone for assistance.

He said the transporter would be resigned to spending the night in a pitch dark jungle.

No one travels the rural roads at night.

The standard operating procedure (SOP) for these rural transporters when they have a breakdown or get stuck in the mud is to stay by their vehicle and wait for help from passing drivers.

That could be a long wait.

“Things can get desperate when you don’t have food and water while waiting for help to arrive,” Matius said.

“I was hungry and thirsty out in the middle of nowhere.”

In another instance, Matius said he walked “for hours” in search of a spot with a phone signal so he could call for help.

Matius said he had to leave his vehicle unattended.

“Uppermost in my mind was the fear that the goods I was transporting might be stolen or the perishable items would go bad.”

Matius said there have been cases in which a vehicle that broke down was left on the road for several days.

Matius has had his fair share of breakdowns in his 11 years travelling the rural Lawas.

He said once, one of the tyres came off and his fuel tank was punctured after scraping the road.

The most common breakdown is a radiator problem, he said.

“A broken axle is another common one. That usually happens when we carry a heavy load or when we try to pull another vehicle stuck in the mud.”

Isac, in relating his experience, said only last Tuesday his 4x4 overheated due to a radiator problem.

“I was driving from the Tropical Jungle Hideout (resort in Ba’kelalan) for Lawas to get my monthly provisions when I experienced the problem,” he said.

He said the rain churned road made the going tough.

“Soon my engine was overheating,” Isac said.

Luckily for Isac, he could still manage to drive at a snail’s pace to reach Long Semadoh, 40km away, without blowing out his overheated engine.

“I was super lucky to get to Long Semadoh. My anxiety was calmed as I knew my 4x4 would be safe.”

Isac said breakdowns like he had experienced “is only the tip of the iceberg”.

“Most of us (drivers) have experienced one kind of breakdown or another.”

He said while they might fret at possible high repair costs, what infuriates them the most is the “bad mobile” service.

“There is no way for us to get help quickly.”

“Had I been unlucky, I could have ended up in the middle of nowhere and might have had my 4x4 vandalised or stolen.

Singa Buas, said the poor telecommunication service in Long Sukang, Long Semadoh and Ba’ Kelalan, deep in rural Lawas was due to only one telecommunication tower serving a large swathe of area.

“The tower is at Kampung Long Semadoh Rayeh and we believe its signals are blocked by mountainous terrain.”

Singa said the tower was supposed to serve subscribers in eight villages but more often than not people in these areas could not even receive or make calls as the strength of the signal is too weak.

“No need to even speak about receiving or sending SMS (short messaging service).”

Singa said he had informed the relevant authorities but all he received was apathy.

He said that when the people here are promised better service with a few more towers in Long Semadoh, “we take it with a pinch of salt”.

“We will believe those promises when we experience the advertised service.

“Poor roads, no electricity supply, no treated water supply and extremely poor telecommunication service. What more could people in the interior of Lawas, from Long Sukang, Long Semadoh and Ba’ Kelalan ask for?” –  February 18, 2023.