FIVE years ago, a senior citizen in Johor Baru made news for mending potholes in the Taman Pelangi area.

Thanks to a Facebook user aduka.pbj, who witnessed the elderly Chinese man squatting in the middle of the road to patch a hole, images of the elderly man on a bicycle, complete with a bucket of tar and some rags left Malaysians livid with the incompetence of the authorities.

“I was on my motorcycle going through Jalan Kuning, Taman Pelangi JB. I saw someone squatting in the middle of the road.

“When I looked closer, I saw it was elderly Chinese uncle who was squatting, while covering a pothole. I don’t know where he got extra tar he carried in his bucket which he brought everywhere.”

The bemused author lauded the man’s efforts and prayed for his well-being.

One David Mahadus decried: “If I was the YB of the area, I’d resign,” while praising the man’s noble and selfless act.

Halmy Makmin shared how the uncle was a regular face in Taman Pelangi and said many worshippers of the Jamek At Taqwa mosque nearby were aware of the man’s deeds.

Ridzwan MyJihad, meanwhile, said the uncle’s selflessness extended beyond repairing potholes as he would also double up as a traffic warden in the rain when traffic lights malfunctioned during a thunderstorm. 

What was then Johor Baru mayor Adib Azhari Daud doing? Did he not cringe knowing that an elderly man cycled the streets to patch up potholes, spending time and effort to keep road users safe, when it was Adib who was paid to ensure roads were not a hazard to road users? 

Last month, it was reported that Adib was arrested for corruption by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission for pocketing RM1 million in bribes from contractors as reward for approving projects during his tenure as mayor from 2020 to 2021.

No pardon for incompetent authorities 

In 2021, there was news yet again but this time of a 75-year-old motorcyclist losing his life to a pothole.

Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Zulkefly Yahya was quoted as saying the 7.30am incident occurred when the victim, Ho Yan Fee, was riding from Taman Connaught to Mid Valley.

Ho was coming from the direction of Pandan Perdana and plying through the middle lane of a three-lane stretch when he crashed into the pothole, resulting in him being thrown off some 30m away. Ho died on the spot.

Zulkefly said the accident was caused by the pothole in the centre lane.

Accidents and deaths owing to potholes and poor roadworks are nothing new in Malaysia. The question which no elected government bothered addressing is “why?”

Must authorities do their job only when a VIP suffers a fall in potholes as happened with one minister prompting the Works Ministry, through the Public Works Department, to repair potholes within 24 hours under its rekindled “Aku Janji Zero Potholes” campaign.

The ministry, in a statement, had said the earlier “Aku Janji Zero Potholes” campaign, which was carried out from 2016 to 2018, made a comeback after the minister’s fall.

Under this campaign, pothole repairs will be done within 24 hours of discovery or complaint, while permanent repairs will be done in three days as stated in the Federal Road Maintenance contract.

The statement defined pothole damage for any pothole with diameters of 200mm to 1,000mm.

Shame on the Works Ministry for prioritising a minister’s safety instead of the public and taxpayers’ welfare, and woe to the government for failing to ensure the country’s roads are safe for humans and animals to traverse.

Forced to DIY

Last month, heavy downpour led to the collapse of a road in the Baram district in northern Sarawak. Cries for help by Penans and Orang Ulu communities to local politicians and state authorities in Baram went unheard.

A body representing Sarawak natives, Dayak National Congress, struggled to help the stranded natives.

Its president Paul Raja told The Vibes that affected natives were forced to resort to DIY (do it yourself) at the collapsed section by using rocks, leftover logs and wood to plug the missing link.

They are trying to repair the collapsed section on their own as no one had gone in to help.

Strange as in March 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had announced the federal government would work with Sarawak to repair damaged Jiwa Murni and logging roads stretching to 578km in the state before Christmas.

Could Zahid explain how the June 2024 road collapse happened then, barely six months after road work was done?

A disgruntled Paul, when asked about the repair work, had this to say to The Malaysian Insight: 

“Whenever we hear of this kind of allocation, it is just like we see the wind blowing over the trees but where does it go and end, nobody knows.

“In 2014, then prime minister Najib Razak announced a RM300 million allocation to upgrade logging roads and construction of infrastructure in Baram would benefit 70,000 Orang Ulu. But until today, there is still no rain.

“Announcement of allocation for development projects in Sarawak is just like seeing the lightning and hearing thunder with no rain in sight.”

It is bewildering that people have to literally dirty their hands in fixing problems which are the responsibility of the elected government.

Is the present-day unity government under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim going to pull the same stunt as did Britain’s so-called apologetic ex-PM Rishi Sunak, who in his parting message had this to say “I heard your anger”? 

The clock is ticking but Anwar still has time to avoid succumbing to the “too little, too late” legacy most governments are notorious for. – July 11, 2024.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.