Ghost lorries outsmart JPJ by coming out at night

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KUCHING: The declaration by the Road Transport department (JPJ) that it had dealt with the menace of lori hantu (ghost lorries) along the 120km Bakun Road has turned out to be premature.

A convoy of lori hantu waiting for nightfall to move under the cover of darkness along Bakun Road.

A lori hantu ready to move under the cover of darkness along the Bakun Road.

According to sources from the ground, the drivers of the lori hantu had avoided the enforcement officers by waiting for night fall to drive along the road.

Since launching the “Ops Lebih Muatan” along the Bakun Road on Oct 13, JPJ has stationed three teams of five officers each to tackle the lori hantu and they managed to reduce the number of the overloaded illegal lorries plying the road during the day time.

Commenting on the latest development, Minister of Land Development, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing said it seemed that the lori hantu of Bakun Road had outsmarted JPJ and the police by coming out at night.

A few overloaded lorries were spotted parked by the roadside in broad daylight this week, waiting for night time when the enforcement officers stopped work.

Masing suggested that the police and JPJ should make a thorough study to have the upper hand in curbing their operations.

“The authority should build permanent structures over the road at certain height. So whether the lori hantu come out during day time or night, the barrier will stop them,” Masing told The Borneo Post here yesterday.

Masing added that the enforcement agencies had to tackle the menace seriously as the lori hantu had not only caused danger to other road users but also cost the government millions of ringgit to repair the public road they destroyed.

“After all these lori hantu are not invincible. They cannot pass through solid barriers,” Masing pointed out.

Besides Masing, MP for Hulu Rajang Wilson Ugak also urged the enforcement agencies especially the JPJ to carry out their operations at night as well.

“It is very important for the JPJ and other related enforcement agencies to carry out their duties effectively to restore public confidence in the government,” added Ugak.

Most of the lori hantu of Bakun Road carry logs from the forest to the log ponds and thereafter carrying them to the sawmills in Bintulu.

These Lorries have been dubbed as lori hantu by the locals as most of them do not have licence plate numbers and their drivers are also known to be without proper permits including driving licence.