KUCHING, Dec 14: The Sarawak Patriots Association (SPA) has received numerous complaints from members of the public regarding the placement of some election banners and flags.
According to its secretary David Xavier Hii Chin Loung, this is especially for those which are placed near the roundabouts and at the road junctions and minor roads.
“This makes it particularly hard for motorists to exit the junctions because the election signboards, banners, and flags are obstructing their view of oncoming traffic.
“We wish to urge those responsible for placing the election signboards, flags, and banners to be more considerate to road users as the obstruction of view may cause road traffic accidents as motorists may not be able to see the oncoming traffic and proceed to drive out from the junction or minor road which may cause an accident.
“We understand that it is currently the 12th Sarawak Election, and it is the prerogative of the political parties to campaign, but they should avoid placing these campaign materials at areas which will obstruct the view of motorists as this may cause danger to road users.
“Furthermore, this is currently the rainy season, and we are having rough weathers almost every day, they should ensure that the election signboards, flags, and banners are firmly rooted to the ground and that they do not fall and obstruct traffic due to the bad weather,” he said in a statement today.
He said that as a remedy, a motorist may claim some contribution from the owner of the election signboards, banners, and flags if he or she can prove that they did indeed cause an obstruction to their sight which contributed to the road traffic accident.
“Therefore, we would like to implore political parties to be more cautious in the placement of their campaign materials,” he said. — DayakDaily
