KUCHING, Aug 14: Bintulu MP Dato Sri Tiong King Sing is urging Senior Works Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof to go down to the field to monitor the development of Pan Borneo Highway involving the Sibu-Bintulu line, not Bintulu-Miri.
He said the main problem of the highway lies between the portion of roads from Sibu to Bintulu, thus reviews of construction performance in Bintulu and Miri are unreasonable.
“I have traveled back and forth using that road (from Sibu to Bintulu) many times. Indeed, the condition of the road surface is very bad.
“The road division is not tar-sealed and the road does not follow the set standards. When asked, JKR (Public Works Department) always has many reasons saying it concerns past project approvals,” he said in a statement today.
Tiong said that he has brought this issue up in Parliament several times but there were always reasons from JKR and no proper safety measures have been implemented in areas under construction while roads are left unmanaged.
Therefore, he hoped that Fadillah was aware of the said situation as the road condition at the specified area was not as bad before the Pan Borneo Highway construction despite many sharp bends and narrow roads.
“But since the commencement of the Pan Borneo project, the road condition has been bad and dusty when lorries pass and this is dangerous,” he stressed.
As to why the project review has been focusing only in Bintulu, Miri and not Sibu, Tiong said he had no comments but suggested relevant parties submit their questions to Fadillah themselves. — DayakDaily
