IPOH: A thorough review of the East-West Highway or the Gerik-Jeli Road is needed to improve its condition, says Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
The Perak Mentri Besar stated that state infrastructure committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin has been tasked with preparing a paper to outline the necessary improvements for the road.
"It's high time we look into the alignment and the condition of the road.
"The concession for the highway has long expired, for about 40 years," he said in a press conference after opening the Perak Export Day here on Wednesday (June 12).
"The highway was built during (Malaysia's second prime minister) Tun Abdul Razak Hussein's time, to stop incursion by communists from Thailand," he said, adding that some stretches of the road could no longer be patched up.
On June 9, some 15 individuals, including Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students, were killed after a bus lost control and flipped on its side on the highway.
On Tuesday (June 10), Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi posted on Facebook that the site of the tragic accident was a key section set for rehabilitation in 2025, with an allocation of RM55mil.
Saarani also said that a new hospital would be required in Gerik due to the high frequency of accidents on the highway.
"A separate paper will be prepared by the state health committee A. Sivanesan on this," he said.
"Both papers will be forwarded to the Federal Government for their consideration," he said, adding that he would also speak to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about the proposals required to improve the situation near the highway.
He said that another suggestion brought up during the weekly state executive council meeting included having relevant mobile units situated in the middle stretch of the highway to provide faster assistance.
"The road is long.
"It would take about an hour to reach the middle stretch of the highway (from Gerik town) if an emergency is to occur there," he said, adding that accident victims could be stuck inside an ambulance on the road for up to three hours.
