Nanta: Road users must uphold the right driving attitude

KUCHING (Jan 29): While the Works Ministry strives to ensure all roads in Malaysia meet the international standards, users must uphold the right driving attitude, said Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi.

He said the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research stated that 80 per cent of the fatal road accidents were caused by human behaviour, followed by 13 per cent due to road conditions and the rest by vehicle conditions.

“If you tell them (road users) that 80 per cent are caused by human error, they will get angry. And every time a fatal accident occurs, they call us.

“Our drivers, please, please, please be disciplined,” he told the BFM Breakfast Grille.

Nanta admitted that overloading is a major issue even though roads in Malaysia are built to certain standards.

In line with ensuring roads meet international standards, he said all roads need to be reconstructed every five to seven years to ensure they remain in good condition.

He said his ministry is working closely with the Ministry of Transport (MoT) on enforcement, since the Works Ministry does not have its own enforcement unit.

On the pre-qualification policy for awarding major development projects, Nanta said this serves to ensure that the appointed contractor has the capability to deliver the project on time.

He said this pre-qualification plays a role in determining that the appointed contractor is competent, able to finish the work with quality and without cutting the corners.

“Mind you, what is not fully understood is that a completely open tender is not pre-qualified. There are so many companies, even with the necessary qualifications and classes, (that) may lack experience.

“If every duly registered entity goes for tender, they may put forward lower prices, which are attractive but may end up (becoming) a burden to the government if they have no experience,” he elaborated.

Nanta said mega projects such as the Pan Borneo Highway I and II adopted the pre-qualification system due to the major challenges involved.

“It allows us to determine the entire aspect of the company that we think is capable of finishing the job.”

Asked whether Peninsular Malaysia needs more highways given that the road users there spend 44 hours a month on the road, he said it is unfair to pin the blame the Public Works Department (JKR) whenever traffic gridlocks occur.

Instead, he suggested that road users tell the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) to stop issuing permits to produce more vehicles.

He also pointed out that the absence of a proper and mature public transport system is another cause of traffic congestion.

“Don’t blame the JKR, we provide facilities for vehicles to be on the road. Tell Miti to stop giving permits to produce more cars.

“Also, we have not developed a public transport system that is capable of meeting the demand. It takes a while to do this, so we still need roads,” he said.