JOHOR BARU: Following his earlier gaffe over federal and state roads, Pakatan Harapan’s Dr Maszlee Malik has acknowledged that the stretch of Jalan Tebrau he highlighted as being in poor condition falls under the Federal Government's jurisdiction.
Maszlee, who is vying for the Puteri Wangsa state seat in the 16th Johor state election, said he and his team confirmed that its maintenance and upgrading fall under the Works Ministry and Public Works Department (JKR).
"Since the road is (federal), the Madani government has the responsibility to address the issue as soon as possible.
"However, politicians should not dismiss issues affecting the public simply because they fall outside the state government's jurisdiction," he said in a statement on Friday (July 3).
He said the people want coordination between all levels of government to solve the problem, not for responsibility to be shunted between jurisdictions.
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"If Pakatan is given the mandate to form the next state government, I will review and improve coordination mechanisms between the Federal and state government and local authorities on infrastructure projects.
"Complaints involving federal, state and local roads should have clear channels, timelines and responsible agencies to ensure they are resolved without unnecessary delays," he said.
He added that he would seek meetings with Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi and Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan during the campaign period to urge Putrajaya to immediately repair the affected stretch of Jalan Tebrau.
On Monday (June 29), Maszlee uploaded campaign videos of himself driving from Tebrau to Ulu Tiram to highlight what he described as poor road conditions in Puteri Wangsa.
However, Barisan Nasional’s Puteri Wangsa candidate Teow Chia Ling pointed out during a chance encounter with Maszlee during a pasar malam walkabout that the road was in fact a federal road under JKR.
In the exchange, caught on video, Teow told him that he should raise the matter with the relevant federal authorities since the road came under the Madani government.
Maszlee then responded with a smile, saying he would call his "friend the minister" to look into the matter.
Muda’s candidate for the same constituency, Rashifa Aljunied, then weighed in on the matter by releasing a social media video on Friday explaining the different authorities responsible for road maintenance and how the public can lodge complaints.
"Roads in housing areas are generally maintained by local councils, while roads in commercial areas are initially the responsibility of developers before being handed over to the councils. Highways and roads marked with a yellow icon on digital maps are typically under JKR," she said.
Rashifa said public complaints involving roads under JKR, local councils and even developers can be submitted through the Public Complaints Management System (Sispaa).
She noted that road-related issues, particularly involving potholes and road safety, make up about half the complaints received by Muda’s Puteri Wangsa service centre.
"Part of my election manifesto is also to serve as a bridge between government agencies and residents to ensure road complaints are communicated more effectively and resolved more efficiently," she added.
Puteri Wangsa is seeing a five-cornered contest involving Maszlee, Teow, Rashifa, Bersama's Nicholas Paul Vincent and Independent Wang Wee Siong.
In the previous state election on March 12, 2022, Muda’s Amira Aisya Abd Aziz won the seat in a six-cornered fight.
Johor will go to the polls on July 11.
