File photo of a ‘lori hantu’ along Tubau-Bakun Road.
KUCHING: The Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the police will mount a joint operation to rid Tubau-Bakun Road of unlicensed logging trucks, known locally as ‘lori hantu’, permanently.
State JPJ public relations officer Rogie Saui said he would liaise with Bintulu police chief Supt Madang Usat to bring the ‘kings of the road’ to heel as they posed a danger to road users.
“We are going to do it (joint-operations),” Rogie told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
When contacted, Supt Madang said he had organised his team to address this perennial issue.
“Yes, we are going all out to address it once and for all,” he said, without elaborating.
He added that his men had from time to time carried out operations against these illegal road giants, whom locals said had claimed many lives and created huge potholes along the 120km stretch.
The latest update on the ‘lori hantu’ issue was brought to the attention of The Borneo Post by PRS Belaga Branch, and it prompted strong reactions from locals and politicians such as Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof, and Home Affairs Deputy Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
For two conductive days, The Borneo Post highlighted this issue on its front page, urging the relevant authorities to take immediate action against the culprits.
Wan Junaidi even urged the police and the JPJ to confiscate these ‘lori hantu’ and compound its owners heavily for posing a danger to road users and destroying the road. He opined that these vehicles were usually without valid licences, road tax and insurance.
Fadillah said Tubau-Bakun Road cost millions of ringgit to construct and was now being resurfaced again at a cost of about RM31 million as the road was badly damaged by overloaded vehicles, especially by `lori hantu’.
Meanwhile, Masing said it seemed that along the Tubau-Bakun Road “the rule of law doesn’t apply, but the rule of money does”.
The PRS president added that he had highlighted the issue many times in the past, including suggesting solutions, but it all fell on deaf ears.
“I hope the relevant authorities take their job more seriously, otherwise more money will be wasted for road repair and more lives lost,” said Masing.