Press Statement By Violet Yong:
I would like to call on JKR Sarawak to take immediate action to resolve the bad road condition of Jalan Setia Raja, Kuching i. e both sides of road i.e the section between Lodge School Roundabout and Jalan Permat.
Jalan Setia Raja has severe rutting problem all along, potholes everywhere, sunken and damaged road surface area in front of Kuching Plywood resulting in serious ponding issue. These problems are posing great danger to road users particularly the motorists.
I was made to understand that the government carried out road rehabilitation project sometime in mid-year of 2015 and handed over to JKR Sarawak after Defect Liability Period (DLP) ended in early January 2018. The Road Maintenance Contract was subsequently given to CMS Roads Sdn Bhd between year 2018 till end of 2019 and thereafter it was awarded to PPES Works Sdn Bhd in January 2020.
So based on chronological order of events, the road Jalan Setia Raja Road should be in good condition since it was already rehabilitated and accepted by JKR Sarawak.
Because when it was handed over to JKR Sarawak, JKR Sarawak accepted it meaning it was in good condition which later was handed over for maintenance by specialist road maintenance contractor which maintains the road in accordance with the standard road maintenance as specified by our government. However, instead of a good road, the road now is in terrible condition and in urgent need of rehabilitation again within a period of less than 10 years.
JKR Sarawak should into this issue seriously because premised on the chronological of events – it is clear that somehow, something, somewhere must have gone so wrong. Was it error of design? If it is so, then the consultant should be made liable.
Or was it caused by use of construction material of inferior quality? If it is, then again, consultant should be blacklisted for having failed to check the suitability and quality of the materials prescribed.
If the condition of the road is due to shoddy contractor’s work, then not only should the contractor be barred from being awarded any more jobs but JKR Sarawak’s superintendent officer should also be made answerable for having failed to carry out the necessary quality control and construction supervision.
The state government can claim that the condition of Jalan Setia Road is the result of years being ploughed by overladen trucks. But if the government knows that the road is facing problem of overladen trucks, why the government did not build roads with higher specs that can withstand more weight, knowing that overladen trucks have always been a major problems in this part of the road?
If the management of Jalan Setia Raja is any indication of the level of standard use by our state government in managing our roads, then it really worries us all. With more roads to be built across Sarawak of which 60% is peat soil, what will become of these roads in the near future? We might have the budget to build the roads today, but can we afford to keep maintaining and rehabilitating one stretch of road after another, year after year?
“Jln Setia Raja is definitely not a road whereby the maintenance company can ask its workmen to simply patch up the potholes here and there and considered the job is completed.”
Violet Yong
ADUN for Pending
29.11.2020
