JKR S’wak to repair dysfunctional escalators in front of private hospital ASAP

Sarawak JKR logo

By Ling Hui

KUCHING, Jan 29: Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak will repair the dysfunctional escalators at both ends of the overhead footbridge in front of Timberland Medical Centre (TMC) as soon as possible.

JKR Sarawak director Ir Richard Tajan said JKR Sarawak received a complaint about the faulty escalators yesterday (Jan 28) and repair works would be carried out soonest.

He said the same pairs of escalators stopped working in August last year and JKR Sarawak already fixed it then.

Meanwhile, Tajan said the emergency stop buttons at the escalators have been intentionally pushed by users several times before.

“Based on past operation and maintenance records, JKR Sarawak has encountered a few times where the emergency stop buttons were intentionally pushed by users.

“JKR Sarawak has always restarted the escalators once complaints from the public were received,” he told DayakDaily through text message today.

As preventive measures, Tajan said JKR Sarawak will consider keyless escalator restart buttons, installing signage with the JKR Roadcare Hotline WhatsApp number and closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) at the overhead footbridge.

Yesterday, Kuching South City Council (MBKS) and JKR Sarawak were called out for the lack of maintenance of the overhead footbridge by Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen.

On the same day, MBKS mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng clarified that the overhead footbridge is under the jurisdiction of JKR Sarawak. — DayakDaily