KUCHING, Jan 7: Special assistant to Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen, Michael Kong Feng Nian, has called on local councils to take proactive steps to inspect and treat trees planted by the roadside to ensure that they do not endanger the public.
He shared that last month, a tree was uprooted and fell on Lorong 2, Jalan Stampin Baru.
Together with some of the residents, he was able to assist in removing the tree from the road to avoid further inconvenience to road users. On that occasion, there was no damage to property or personal injury.
“Today, we saw another tree uprooted at Reservoir Park. This time, the entire tree fell on a motor vehicle and smashed it entirely. Thankfully, no one was in the car, nor were there joggers during the incident.
“The council — Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) and the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) must be held accountable for today’s incident and make amends by compensating the vehicle owner for the damages suffered,” he said in a statement today.
Kong also said that such incidents reemphasised the need for the local councils to check on all trees, especially huge and old ones, and to treat them.
“Preventive measures must be put in place to ensure the safety of the public,” he added. — DayakDaily
