Time to banish the ‘lori hantu’ once and for all

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The latest destruction of the height limiting metal barrier installed across the Murum road by rogue timber trucks last Tuesday should have been the straw that broke the camel’s back in this infuriating defiance of the state’s government’s order for them to stop using the road.

Sadly the rather muted response from the authorities to this latest disregard of the law by the drivers of the ‘lori hantu’ seems to suggest there is little anyone could do to stop this marauding trucks from tearing up the roads and terrorising other road users.

The Public Works Department did respond with a promise to build 12 more such barriers across the road to deter these ‘ghost’ truck drivers from smashing through the obstacles built to prevent them from using the road.

It was hardly a reaction the Murum folk had hoped to hear as more barriers would make it more difficult for the drivers to smash their way through but if they could destroy the structures with such ease and impunity what is there to prevent them from demolishing 12 or more of them?

Understandably the people most upset by the impotence of the authorities in stopping the overloaded timber trucks from using the road that were not built to withstand the loads they carry were the people in Murum and Belaga.

Their  frustration was vociferously voiced out by their elected representative notably Land Development Minister Tan Sri James Masing who called for the licence of timber companies which own these trucks to be revoked if they continue to thumb their noses at the state government by using the road.

That would arguably be the most effective way to stop the ‘lori hantu’ from plying the route but one that would require a strong political will to implement.

It is important to note that the logs transported by these trucks were legally felled from timber concessions in the area and the concessionaires are among the kingpins of the timber industry in the state.

Stopping them from operating would result in a massive blow to the timber industry which is a key component of the state’s economy and loss of jobs for many locals who work in the industry.

A practical way is to build a police post where the barriers are built and have them manned by the police and army personnel.

This should prove to be an effective deterrence to the drivers from ramming through the barriers and destroying them without the drastic measure of closing down the concessions.

The timber company should have no complaints for being prevented from using the Murum road because they already operating in the area before the road was built.

They can still operate using their old routes although it might be more inconvenient and costly but that cost should have been factored in their operation since the Murum road was not built for them to use in the first place.

The only reason why the timber companies chose to use the Murum road is it’s more convenient and smoother than the rough timber tracks originally built to transport their logs.

On top of that they have the bonus of not having to maintain the roads since the cost of repair would be borne by the state government.

A solution just has to be found to put an end to this continuing defiance of the law by the rogue timber truck drivers – enough is enough.