KUCHING: Putting up a Road Transport Department (JPJ) office equipped with a weighing bridge to curb overloaded lorries and unregistered timber trucks plying the Bakun road is no easy task.
This is because military or police personnel would have to be placed at the office to look after the facility to prevent it from being destroyed, said Infrastructure Development and Communication Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin.
He was commenting on the destruction of a road gantry less than 24 hours after it was installed by Public Works Department (JKR) to act as a height barrier against overloaded lorries at Bakun road last week.
Although JPJ conducted daily patrols, he explained it was not possible to monitor the 120km road 24 hours a day in view of the poor visibility at night.
“I had conducted a meeting with the department on building an office equipped with a weighing bridge at the area, but it would not be easy because the enforcement agency would have to place military and police personnel to look after their facility.
“In the meantime, JPJ is doing patrols everyday but it is not possible to patrol 24 hours,” he told a press conference after launching the state-level road safety campaign in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration at Kuching Sentral bus terminal here yesterday.
Manyin cited the area of Matadeng, situated along Mukah-Selangau road, as an example where the authorities had a difficult time handling illegal operators.
He revealed that a contractor had found it difficult to complete their road maintenance and repair job due to overloaded lorries which constantly plied the road.
“Full enforcement was placed at the stretch including the installation of a weighing bridge by JPJ. Illegal operators had a complete disregard to the law. They ran over the temporary office set up by JPJ!” he said of the situation there before the project was finally completed.
However, he assured that his ministry, along with the relevant authorities, was looking into ways that could effectively curb the overloaded lorries plying Bakun road.
Some of these trucks, which are unregistered and believed to be transporting logs or fresh fruit bunches illegally, are known to the locals as ‘lori hantu’.
JKR built the gantry to act as a barrier for overloaded lorries last Tuesday only to be struck of its post less than a day later. The Borneo Post reported on Wednesday that the open defiance against the state government’s move to stop the destruction of the road had infuriated locals who had to bear with the road damage inflicted by the heavy vehicles and the danger they posed to other road users.
Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing was reported as saying that he hoped the authorities concerned would take drastic action to bring these road bullies to justice. He suggested the authorities build bigger and stronger barriers that are more difficult to destroy.