KOTA KINABALU: Overloaded oil palm lorries are one of the reasons the government could not solve the problem of damaged roads from Telupid to Sandakan and Kinabatangan, said Karamunting assemblyman, Datuk George Hiew Vun Zin.
Hiew said he had witnessed overloaded lorries utilising the road to get from plantations to palm oil mills, especially at night.
“If we don’t take action on these overloaded transportation, then the Telupid-Sandakan and Telupid-Kinabatangan roads will never be solved.
“Even when the new Pan Borneo Highway project is completed in this stretch, the new road will be damaged quickly, so what is the point of a new road then?” he said in his debate speech at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here, yesterday.
The Karamunting Parti Gagasan Rakyat division chief said that the Public Works Department (JKR) has maintained the road throughout Sabah with the same methods, approaches, and standards.
However, the damages at the Telupid-Sandakan and Telupid-Kinabatangan roads only worsened in time.
“For years, the people have been cricitising every government for this, saying that the government had failed, calling the road ‘jalan bulan’.
“Why can’t we solve the problem here? One of the causes is irresponsible road users; overloaded trucks,” he said.
Hence, Hiew proposed for the Sabah Works Ministry to create an enforcement task force to investigate and take action against transportation that violates the Government’s Heavy Weight Increase (BDM) level.
“Don’t just arrest the truck driver, investigate which plantation they come from and which factory they are heading to, and take follow-up actions. Issue compounds. Use this money to compensate for the road damage.
“If we could take this step, I believe that the Telupid-Sandakan-Sukau road will not have any problem anymore,” he said.
Earlier, Hiew commended the Sabah state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor for the speedy implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway Project from Sapi Nangoh to Sukau, given that the project is now 60 percent completed.
