A badly damaged road section at the intersection leading to the proboscis monkey santuary.
SANDAKAN (Nov 1): The Telupid-Sandakan Highway is in dire need of better maintenance, said Sandakan Indian Association president Taren Sunil Manoharan.
He made the remark after making an overland trip from Sandakan to Ranau recently and once again experienced first hand the poor condition at several sections of the road.
Taren Sunil urged the relevant ministry, departments and local authorities to promptly rectify what needs to be done to prevent the possibility of accidents, especially along that stretch of highway.
“I am sure we can all recall the uproar early this year when the then Federal Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Khairy Jamaluddin, suffered minor injuries after he fell off his bicycle upon hitting a road pothole at Banting town in Kuala Langat, Selangor. “Various ministries, departments and local authorities were quick to publicly promise that potholes and other problems along roads under their jurisdiction will soon be a thing of the past. Well apparently that is not the case, at least not along our Telupid-Sandakan Highway,” claimed Taren Sunil.
“Now that the furore over Khairy’s fall has died down, complacency seems to have set in,“ he added.
“While we must understand that road maintenance works and repairs do require time for planning and budgeting before being carried out, those in charge must try their best to implement the job as soon as possible because every moment of delay could result in accidents,” he stressed.
Taren Sunil said that many sections of the Telupid-Sandakan highway, were slippery due to the breakup of the road surface. He said that the gritty surface caused vehicles to slide and thus drivers could lose control of their vehicles. There were also many sections where the road was undulating causing vehicles to sort of bounce forward resulting in loss of control.
“Along the Telupid-Sandakan highway, there are also many potholes some of which are very large and certainly pose a danger to smaller vehicles. All these issues must be addressed quickly,” Sunil Tanil appealed.
He also observed that current road repairs such as the patching up of potholes do not seem to last long. He opines this could be due to frequent use of the road by very heavy vehicles.
He urged those with qualified knowledge to come up with a solution whereby the road repairs and maintenance could withstand constant usage even by very heavy vehicles over a long period.
Meanwhile, he commended the road maintenance team or contractor for putting up warning signages at a road section near Ulu Dusun where a serious landslide had occurred. However, he suggested that additional signages be put up around 100 meters from the actual place of the collapsed road so that drivers get the warning earlier.
“I urge all the relevant ministries, departments and local authorities in charge of our highways and roads not to let up on maintenance and repairs. It is not just a matter of comfort and convenience, it is a matter of life and death for drivers and road users,” he emphasised.