Cable thieves targeting streetlight infrastructure have cost Selangor millions of ringgit last year.
State infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim described the surge in thefts as serious, noting the state was now compiling data from multiple agencies to determine the full scale of the problem.
“The Public Works Department (JKR) is currently conducting an inventory exercise,” he said, adding that recent cases in Sepang alone involved losses amounting to millions of ringgit.
“Police reports have been lodged for all cases.
“We will hold a meeting with security agencies soon to discuss proactive measures to curb the thefts.”
Izham was speaking at a ceremony to hand over the long-term road maintenance contract (KJP) for 2026–2030 and new machinery to JKR Selangor in Shah Alam.
He explained that underground streetlight cables were particularly vulnerable.
While copper was previously widely used, many installations have shifted to aluminium, which still commands a high resale value.
On road maintenance, Izham said the state was modernising its approach following the success of the jet patcher system introduced as a pilot project last year.
“We saw good results and performance from the pilot project.
“This has prompted us to expand the programme to five zones using five jet patcher machines,” he said.
Responding to complaints about road conditions in Meru, Izham said the state relied on annual pavement condition assessment (PCA) studies to prioritise repairs.
“We have a full inventory of roads.
“Through the PCA, we know which roads need upgrading,” he said.
He added that Selangor allocated RM10mil annually for these studies on local authority roads.
Izham acknowledged that while conventional repairs were standard, the state was increasingly adopting technologies such as sprayed polymer seal and slurry/fine milling.
He said these were particularly effective for road surfaces on challenging soil such as peat and marine clay.
Under the new KJP, Selangor has allocated RM125mil annually from 2026 to 2030 for state road maintenance.
The contract, implemented by Infrasel Sdn Bhd, covers routine works such as grass cutting and drainage maintenance, with enhanced digital monitoring using global positioning and artificial intelligence systems.
“The state also allocated RM3mil in 2025 to buy 11 new machines to replace equipment that is over 20 years old,” said Izham.
The new assets include two excavators, three backhoe loaders, two 18m-skylift lorries and four tipper trucks, which will be used for road maintenance, traffic lights and emergency mobilisation during landslides or floods.
