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On November 7, a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) corporal traveling to work on a rainy morning hit a watery pothole because he could not see it.
Mohd Husaini Mohd Nasir, 28, lost control of his motorcycle and fell from his machine before being hit by a truck.
Unfortunately, the aviator died at the scene from serious head injuries. Police said at the time that the accident was being investigated for causing death by reckless driving.
The Department of Public Works (JKR) was silent, as did the Kuala Lumpur City Council (DBKL). No one was outraged or apologized for the death, which could have been prevented if authorities had acted quickly to repair the pothole.
No one knew how long it took the government authority responsible for that stretch of road to repair it, if ever it did. In addition to your accident claims, the officer most likely was not compensated for negligence by authorities.
Fast forward to December 27. Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Khairy
Jamaluddin was riding his racing bike somewhere in Banting. He hit a pothole, fell off his bike and was injured.
In a Twitter post after the incident, Khairy said: “Ditch, ditch, KJ. 2020 keeps giving. “The 3.23pm post featured photos of the pothole and a bicycle next to the nearby ditch.
Khairy also shared a photo of his injuries that showed bruises on his left forehead, nose and mouth.
His assistant, Raja Syahrir Abu Bakar, said the minister suffered minor injuries and that there was nothing serious and thanked everyone for their concern.
Now this is the best part. Just over five hours later, at 8.42pm, the Kuala Langat JKR responded to Khairy on Twitter. It said: “Kuala Langat JKR apologizes for the incident that happened to the minister, will take immediate action on the problem and pray for YB’s speedy recovery.”
Banting is under the jurisdiction of the Kuala Langat district.
Having been a journalist for several decades, I have written, edited or read countless cases of Malaysian motorcyclists maimed or killed after hitting potholes.
I do not recall a single incident in which JKR or the local authorities responsible for road maintenance apologized, much less claimed responsibility for such incidents.
Obviously, JKR has chosen to practice a double standard similar to incidents where VIPs were fired with a blow to the knuckles for violating Covid-19 quarantine rules, while Joe Public has to face the full brunt of it. law.
JKR’s action exposes the pervasive culture that is turning Malaysia into a society that respects and places more importance on the rich and those in power.
A study conducted by a local university on the causes of road accidents in Malaysia had shown that 11.25% of all road traffic fatalities are related to road defects. This does not include the mutilated.
Of these, about 49% are associated with the lack of public lighting, while
potholes contribute 15.4%.
These are painful for the families of the victims, and we know that they are mostly from
the lowest income category who depend on motorcycles and bicycles to travel to work or school.
Someone has to answer or pay for all deaths and injuries caused by negligence, poor workmanship, and even corruption that have caused accidents of this nature on our roads.
In the meantime, I hope that JKR at all levels will act as soon as they did with the Khairy “mishap”. I’m sure the pothole will have been filled by the time you read this.
All pothole accidents must become national news. Otherwise, Malaysians may start to hope that more important people hit the potholes and fall off their machines to improve our roads and make them safer.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
