GHOST DRIVERS ON THE ROAD: File photo of a ‘lori hantu’ plying the Bakun-Bintulu Road.
Work Ministry, Transport Ministry to team up with enforcement agencies to rid rural roads of ‘lori hantu’
KUCHING: Overloaded lorries carrying timber and other heavy loads which terrorise road users in the interior of the state as they rumble and bully their way along narrow rural roads will face the combined wrath of two ministries and four enforcement agencies soon.
Locally known as ‘lori hantu’ or ghost lorries because they usually appear at night or in the wee hours of the day to avoid detection by police, these vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers are a scourge to rural folks.
They not only endanger other road users but tear up roads as their loads are beyond the permitted weight for the class of roads built in the interior.
To put an end to this threat, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Transport will collaborate with relevant agencies to come up with a mechanism to stop these illegal lorries from hitting the roads, and rein in other errant drivers in rural areas.
Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had agreed in principle to explore with his ministry ways to end this abuse by timber companies and those in other industries.
“We have discussed this issue because many of our roads in Sarawak such as Bakun-Bintulu and Selangau-Metadeng roads have been used by ‘lori hantu’ which damaged them.
“On the whole, the situation is not confined to these two stretches of roads in Sarawak but happens to other roads as well including in Semenanjung Malaysia,” Fadillah told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He added that Hishammuddin who is also Minister of Defence would be inspecting the Bintulu-Bakun Road soon to assess the situation.
Fadillah disclosed that the enforcement agencies tasked to ensure proper road usage are the Road Transport Department (JPJ), police, Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) and Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD).
“We need a coordinated body to deal with these ‘lori hantu’ because it’s not easy to monitor them as they operate during odd hours, especially at night,” said Fadillah.
He was aware of what was going on at these two stretches of roads in the state and wanted the issue to be addressed soon.
Meanwhile, Belaga assemblyman Liwan Lagang said the people want urgent attention to be given to the Bakun-Bintulu Road as well as Belaga-Bakun road as many promises had been made to improve them.
“I think the people are getting tired of promises. What the government and the relevant agencies must do is just deliver their promises,” he said.
He added that after 50 years of independence the people deserve a much better deal than to continue using dirt roads, especially those living in Belaga.