By Ling Hui
KUCHING, April 20: The “missing” Mile 8 flyover was never part of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway project, says Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen.
He said this in rebuttal of former Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang’s statement during an exclusive interview with DayakDaily on Tuesday (April 18) that the Mile 8 flyover was initially part of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway project but had been canceled by the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
Chong, who is also Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman, said quoting a news report dated March 24, 2017, that Lo, when announcing the flyover projects along Kuching-Serian road, did not mention a Mile 8 flyover.
“It says here: Four flyovers consisting of about RM200 million will be built in the Padawan Municipal Council area this year.
“Its chairman Lo Khere Chiang said the four flyovers were at Mile 4, Mile 6, Mile 7 and Mile 9 of Kuching-Serian road as part of the RM16 billion-Pan Borneo Highway project…
“Nothing was mentioned about the Mile 8 flyover. He (Lo) may have forgotten what he had said in 2017. That was at the time when the (flyover) projects were about to start,” said Chong in a press conference at Sarawak DAP headquarters here today.
Chong also made reference to the schedule of works by Public Works Department (JKR) of flyover construction along the Kuching-Serian road, pointing out the official records did not include a Mile 8 flyover, as claimed by Lo.
In fact, Chong added, when construction on the flyover projects kicked off years ago, local residents raised questions about the “missing” Mile 8 flyover, but there was no explanation from the Sarawak government.
“So, as a chairman of Padawan Municipal Council then during the initial planning stage of the flyovers, Lo has to be answerable for not ensuring that a Mile 8 flyover is included,” said Chong.
He said without the flyover, motorists will have to experience traffic congestion at the Mile 8 traffic light junction, especially during peak hours.
However, rather than crying over spilled milk, Chong urged the newly-appointed MPP chairman Tan Kai to make the necessary arrangements for better traffic management to ease the traffic jam.
Also present at the press conference were Chong’s special assistants Sim Kiat Leng and Michael Kong. — DayakDaily
