Chong: Pledge to solve pothole complaints may face challenges.
KUALA Lumpur residents must work with the authorities to solve the city’s pothole problem.
Federal Territories MCA Youth chief Mike Chong said improving this situation required a systematic approach to road maintenance, rather than the current reactive system.
“This includes having better quality materials for repairs and comprehensive road structure assessments,” he said.
Chong was commenting on the recent pledge by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa to solve pothole complaints within 12 hours.
The current cut-off time is within 24 hours.
Kuala Lumpur roads are riddled with potholes. — Courtesy photo
Dr Zaliha had urged officers in related agencies within the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan to solve pothole complaints within 12 hours, starting from the third quarter of this year.
Responding to this Chong said the 12-hour pledge to solve pothole complaints may face some challenges, such as limited manpower and administrative delays in processing and routing complaints to the relevant department.
“Additionally, weather conditions could hinder road repairs.
“The quality of work is also of concern as repairs could be rushed to meet time-based targets,” Chong said.
“For the 12-hour pledge to succeed, it requires not just a policy announcement but also comprehensive restructuring of maintenance operations, increased resources and improved coordination mechanisms,” he added.
Community activist Yee Poh Ping said the public needs to be more proactive by lodging complaints when they come across potholes.
“Most people won’t bother lodging complaints with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) if the potholes don’t damage their vehicles. This mindset needs to change,” he said.
“In the current era where everyone has a smartphone, it shouldn’t be too hard for the people to take photos of the potholes and send them to the authorities.
“The public should assist the authorities in dealing with such problems.
“The authorities must also work hard and act fast on complaints so that people are not left frustrated,” he added.
Yee also urged DBKL to improve public awareness of its WhatsApp number for pothole complaints (011-6239 6652) as many people are not aware of it.
“DBKL must also take stern action and impose heavy fines on utility companies that don’t patch roads properly after finishing their projects,” he said, pointing out the safety hazard of shoddy patching to motorists, especially motorcyclists.
On the other hand, Parti Rakyat Malaysia complaints and welfare bureau (central) head Lee Hoi Eng urged DBKL to conduct on-ground inspections more frequently instead of waiting for the public to lodge complaints.
“It is the government’s responsibility to provide well-rounded infrastructure to taxpayers.
“Hence, DBKL should go down to the ground more often and engage with the people to listen to their demands and needs,” said Lee.
