Car knocks down pothole patcher

 

JOHOR BARU: Panjang, the celebrity pothole patcher, was injured in a minor accident while he was trying to remove the carcass of a cat along a busy road. 

The accident occurred barely a day after newly-appointed Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) mayor Datuk Abdul Latiff Yusof joined scores of concerned Malaysians in advising Panjang to leave the road works to the council. 

Panjang had bruises on his hands and legs when a motorist knocked him down at 7.45am along Jalan Kelawang in Taman Pelangi here yesterday. 

“I had picked up the dead cat from the road and was walking away to bury it when a four-wheel drive vehicle hit me,” he said, adding that he was thrown onto the road and fell unconscious for several minutes. 

MINOR INJURIES: Panjang grimacing as he shows journalists the injuries he suffered when he wasknocked down while removing the carcass of a cat in Johor Baru yesterday.

“When I came to, I was bleeding. The woman driver offered to take me to the hospital but I declined her offer,” Panjang said when met shortly after the accident. 

He bought some traditional ointment from a Chinese medicine shop and bandaged his wounds. 

“The woman kept apologising but I assured her that I was fine. It was only minor injuries,” Panjang said, adding that the woman then dropped him off at a nearby temple and gave him some money. 

Asked if the incident would deter him from continuing to patch up the potholes here, Panjang said: “I am grateful for the mayor’s advice, but I still feel that it is my responsibility to patch up the potholes in the city.” 

Panjang said this was not the first time he had gotten into an accident; there were several other close calls previously.  

Last month, The Star reported that Panjang had taken it upon himself to cover potholes wherever he found them. 

While some members of the public had called and written in to commend his efforts and initiative, others expressed concern that his actions not only endangered his life but those of others as well.