KUCHING, June 13: The state Public Works Department (JKR) has been told to prioritise the maintenance of Jalan Tun Jugah despite the cut in the federal government’s allocation to maintain federal roads.
Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Public Complaints Bureau chief, Wilfred Yap, said many public complaints have been received over the poor maintenance and unkempt grass along the verges of Jalan Tun Jugah that happened to be a federal protocol road.
He gave the reminder that the Jalan Tun Jugah stretch is frequently used by tourists travelling to the city from the Kuching International Airport.
The poorly maintained road together with overgrown weeds along the verges was an eyesore and gave a bad first impression to tourists, he pointed out.
“The public have also expressed their dissatisfaction that the federal government has slashed the budget for JKR to maintain federal roads in the state.
“This considering the fact that Sarawak has been amongst the largest contributors to the federal government coffer in terms of revenue collection particularly from oil and gas revenue and collection of taxes.
“As such, Sarawak deserves a bigger and additional federal government allocation for road maintenance,” Yap said in a statement yesterday.
He added that SUPP Public Complaints Bureau and party members of Kota Sentosa branch will continue to serve as the eyes and ears of the community to ensure that issues affecting the people were attended to.
“SUPP Public Complaints Bureau is always ready to lend a helping hand to the anyone facing problems or who come across problems of public interest but does not know how to deal with it.”
Anyone requiring assistance from SUPP Public Complaints Bureau may contact 016-7797688 or 082-246999, or go directly to SUPP head office. — DayakDaily
