KUCHING, Oct 21: The uneven gravel road surface is making it difficult to achieve a well defined layer of tar thickness throughout, given that road surface should be quite even.
Thus, Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang pointed out that adding a four-inch layer of tar-based sealant would raise the height of the residential road surface to higher than the ground level of houses along the road.
“This would be inconvenient for the residents,” he asserted in a statement today in response to complaints by Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong over the substandard road upgrading works at Rantau Panjang in Batu Kawah here.
Lo also emphasised that the road upgrading works are still ongoing and thus are deemed incomplete until all specifications are met.
“In all the council’s contract works, we will be notified by the contractor once works are completed and a compliance inspection will be carried out to ensure all required specifications are met prior to issuing of certification of work done.
“In the event that there is non-compliance to specifications, the contractor will have to rectify and meet the terms of his engagement,” he explained.
Lo, who is also the Batu Kitang assemblyman, thus urged Yong to address issues in her own backyard first before coming to Batu Kawah.
“For instance, why construct a concrete road on top of a hill at Pending when the ground is already so hard and strong? What a mess it is today!
“Her constituents should be allowed to benefit from her myriad of expertise. Instead, she chooses to ‘help’ elsewhere where it benefits none of her constituents!” he hit back.
The people in Batu Kawah, Lo added, are thankful to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg for his far-sightedness and having the people’s interest at heart to improve the lives of the people through better infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the road upgrading project under the People’s Project involved tar-sealing residential roads including driveways of individual houses at 12 localities within the Batu Kawah constituency.
Yong had recently, through posts on Facebook, complained about the tar-sealed road project at Rantau Panjang by making comparison of the engineering specifications of the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government and the former Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
She claimed that residents were not happy about the thickness of the tar road which was only half-an-inch thick compared to PH’s standard which required four inches in thickness. — DayakDaily
