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PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are up in arms over the state of certain roads in the country, some of which have potholes that could cause damage to vehicles or even cause accidents that harm road users.
Potholes and broken roads have been a long-standing problem in the country.
On Sunday (December 27), the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, hit a pothole and crashed during a bicycle trip in Banting.
On Sunday, Khairy tweeted a photo of her bruised face with small scratches, saying she fell after hitting a pothole while biking through Kampung Seri Cheeding in Banting, Selangor.
“Bump, ditch, KJ. 2020 keeps on giving,” he tweeted.
The Kuala Langat Department of Works issued an apology about five hours later.
Many criticized the apology on social media, questioning whether a similar apology would be extended to ordinary Malaysians if they were the ones injured due to a pothole.
“When a minister tripped and fell, they were quick to apologize. But when Malaysians lose their lives due to potholes, they don’t even care,” Adznee Abas said on Facebook.
Another social media user, Zul Salleh, criticized what he claimed were double standards, saying: “Because a minister was affected, action was taken quickly.”
There were other sarcastic comments as well, with some videos and photos of potholes and rough roads, saying these could be repaired faster if ministers circulated there in the future.
“Ministers can bike near my living area next time so that our potholes can be fixed immediately,” Syahir LangGulung said on Facebook.
“The Kuala Langat District Department of Works apologizes for the incident that affected the YB minister and we will take immediate action and pray for his speedy recovery,” the department tweeted.
In October, calls were renewed for the government to repair potholes instead of renaming streets after the Ministry of Federal Territories announced plans to rename Jalan Raja Laut 1 as Jalan Palestina to show solidarity with the Palestinians.
There is a group called the Ikatan Silaturahim Brotherhood, formed in 2011, which voluntarily fixes potholes when local authorities take too long to repair broken roads.
On November 3, a total of 52,295 reports of potholes in Selangor alone were reported to have been recorded in the Waze navigation app between January 2019 and September 2020.
Of the amount, 37,130 reports were on potholes in roads maintained by the municipalities and 10,219 on roads dependent on the Department of Works.
Another 4,553 reports refer to roads under the purview of the Selangor state works department and 393 to roads under the district land office.
JKR Kuala Langat apologizes for the incident that happened to YB. Minister and will take immediate action on the issue and pray for YB’s speedy recovery.
– JkrKualaLangat (@JkrKualaLangat) December 27, 2020
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