Daily risk: A pothole near the entrance of Persiaran Surian from the Damansara-Puchong Highway heading towards Kota Damansara has consistently reappeared over the past few years, posing a threat to passing motorists. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
THERE are two things drivers in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor have to put up with when they are on the road – reckless food delivery riders, many of whom have no respect for traffic rules, and the countless unsightly potholes.
Almost all of us have accepted the fact that we are the ones who have to watch out for these delivery riders known to beat traffic lights, speed past the line of cars, or emerge out of nowhere right in front of us.
We fully understand that delivery riders are paid according to the number of deliveries they can take each day.
They have become an integral part of our lives and the gig economy has provided jobs to thousands of Malaysians, especially school leavers.
A 2021 news report said there were an estimated 70,000 food delivery riders in Malaysia.
More than 70% of some 500 respondents in a survey admitted to having been involved or injured in accidents, but less than half of them were covered by personal insurance.
Worse, 86.4% of them said they received no help from p-hailing companies if they were involved and got injured in any kind of accident.
In the case of accidents involving these riders, there were a total of 1,242 accidents until May last year.
According to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, out of the total number of accidents, 112 of them were fatal, 82 had severe injuries and 1,048 sustained light injuries.
It’s serious.
Yes, the cumulative trips help to boost their income, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of their personal safety and lives – as well as that of other road users.
There is no reason why they should have to behave recklessly on the road in the name of saving time.
It is heartbreaking to see delivery riders losing lives or limbs on the road. After all, they are merely trying to eke out a living, given that the cost of living in the Klang Valley is surely the highest in the country.
But nobody is listening. Not the delivery riders and certainly there is little enforcement of traffic laws.
The police who set up roadblocks or wave you down are seemingly more interested in checking if you have a valid road tax sticker.
Now, we come to my main grouse. I had to spend a huge sum of money to fix my car after it hit a massive pothole along Persiaran Surian in the upmarket Petaling Jaya area.
I don’t know if I am one of those unlucky ones who have to face an unusually large number of potholes along the routes I take or if other motorists travelling in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are also at their wits’ end dealing with the same problem!
In my case, I have lost count of the disgraceful sight of such cavities around the Tropicana-Kota Damansara area.
It’s worse along Jalan Tanjung Bandar Utama, where there has been a long dispute over the “ownership” of the road.
Driving towards Brickfields, near Muzium Negara, my tyres inadvertently went into a large pothole. Even in parts of the glitzy Jalan Bukit Bintang area, we face this problem. Why is this so?
To avoid going into these mini craters, we are forced to swerve to the side instantly, but it may mean hitting a nearby vehicle. It is, of course, dangerous.
I am sure most of us remember the bravado remark in October 2021 by then Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who foolishly provided his telephone numbers in the Dewan Rakyat so that people could alert him of potholes in Kuala Lumpur.
He was subsequently quoted as saying that he was so inundated by phone calls that he was unable to answer all of them.
We can only assume what happened to those phone numbers.
Likewise, this applies to all local authorities; the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) which has a hotline, email, and other complaints app.
It’s the same with the Petaling Jaya City Hall.
I have made complaints before about a neighbourhood problem. The complaints were duly registered, but the outcome of the case has never been filtered down.
Those of us in the Klang Valley have become accustomed to making complaints or inquiries that mostly get no responses in the end.
A response in this case is just a record of having received your complaint.
The Works Department also has to shoulder some blame as federal roads come under its jurisdiction.
But the last thing we need is for these agencies to pass the buck to each other while road users suffer.
It is frustrating, but the lack of follow-up or action gives us an indication of how poor our system is.
Let’s not even talk about our elected representatives. They surely know how to locate us during the elections but try looking for them after they have become Yang Berhormat.
MPs and maybe even state assemblymen may tell you they are not councillors and it’s not their job to worry about such menial matters, but these problems make our lives miserable each day!
Here’s another mystery – don’t our politicians and their assistants experience this same problem of potholes and what do they do since they have access to the City Hall and municipal council officers?
Don’t they even report to the respective local authorities as dedicated and concerned politicians who care about our safety and well-being? Or am I just naïve?The rest of us must only rely on the e-aduan apps which seem to ask so many particulars of users before coming to the most important point – the complaint itself.Enough said of the dilapidated conditions of our roads. And please don’t let us delve into other problems such as dirty pavements and the filthy back lanes of Petaling Jaya and other places.
The pothole problem, unfortunately, is not just a Klang Valley issue. Last month, His Majesty, the Sultan of Johor, complained that the pothole-riddled highway in Johor caused the rims of his car to be dented.
Please don’t brag about our having world-class facilities if we cannot even maintain them right.
