Ensure infrastructure properly maintained

The Star

23-04-2025

Jalan Skudai Lama in Johor Baru, near KIP Mall Tampoi, is filled with potholes and bumpy surfaces. This stretch of the road is always wet and damaged even after repairs are carried out.
Local councils should fix potholes, faulty street lamps ahead of Visit Johor 2026 and before anything untoward occurs
DURING an early morning drive to send my children to school, I was shocked to find a row of flickering street lamps as I was passing the Hospital Sultan Ismail entrance.
Not one, but almost 10 LED lights were faulty at about 5.30am that day.
It was quite eerie, especially when there was a cemetery across the main road.
Many motorists would have had this scary experience before it was rectified days later.
I have also noticed several other places with flickering street lamps.
Why is this happening? Are the LED lights installed along major roads of poor quality?
Last year, when I highlighted how our administrative centre, Kota Iskandar in Iskandar Puteri, was poorly lit, resulting in some fatal accidents, there was some interest from high-ranking Johor civil servants to discuss the matter.
While the lighting around Kota Iskandar has since improved, I cannot say the same about all other major roads.
Over the weekend, as I was driving around Johor Baru, especially around the Pasar Karat area, I noticed many of the decorative lights put up for Hari Raya Aidilfitri were not functioning.
Why has no one from the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) realised this?
Maybe the lights are out because of an electrical short circuit due to the heavy rain these days, but more effort is needed to maintain these places.
Besides Johor Baru, major roads along the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL), Jalan Tebrau, Jalan Skudai and Pasir Gudang also have many faulty street lamps.
Besides that, many of these roads are now riddled with potholes due to recent wet season.
Some of the roads have been repaired but the fixes did not even last two weeks.
The holes are now much bigger and deeper.
Will our authorities only act after there is a death, either from a motorist skidding along a poorly lit road or a motorcyclist hitting a curb after going into a pot hole?
With Johor being touted as the next economic powerhouse after the Klang Valley and with Visit Johor 2026 campaign next year, all these issues need to be quickly addressed to give confidence to potential investors and tourists.
When it rains, these slippery, poorly lit roads are a danger to thousands of motorists.
It is even more hazardous for motorcyclists travelling for work to Singapore as early as 4am.
It is time for the three major local councils in Johor, namely MBJB, Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) and Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG) to buck up.
They should have a team patrolling the streets to identify and fix faulty lights, not just along major roads but also in housing areas and villages.
The notion that the councils only maintain roads under their jurisdiction while the Public Works Department (JKR) maintains federal roads no longer holds water.
Why can't local councils get the lights fixed first and then bill the cost to JKR or the road concessionaire?
The public should also start highlighting these issues by calling the councils or reporting via the complaint hotline.
Those involved in road accidents because of potholes or poor visibility should consider legal action against the local councils for dereliction of duty.
Lawyer Norman Fernandez, who has handled over 20 pothole-related cases, said councils must stop treating road maintenance as a reactive duty.
'The authorities only act after someone is killed or seriously injured. By then, it is too late,' he said.
Fernandez said local councils were responsible for ensuring safe roads.
'It is not the people's job to report potholes,' he said.
'Local councils must monitor road conditions regularly, especially before and after the rainy season.
'What is happening now is that roads are patched up after something untoward happens, and even then, the patching is often a temporary measure.'
Fernandez said courts were more willing to award damages in pothole-related cases, citing a RM271,000 award last year by the Johor Baru Sessions Court to a man injured in a crash.
He advised victims to act quickly to document everything before the pothole is patched up.
'If your car is damaged or if you are injured, take clear photos of the pothole and the surrounding area,' said Fernandez.
'Lodge a police report, get an itemised bill from the workshop and keep all receipts,' he added.
Johor is a rich state and funds should be immediately allocated to all councils statewide to fix faulty street lamps and potholes.
Such minor issues can mar the state and city's image as the southern gateway into Malaysia.
It is paramount to divert resources to ensure all the state's roads are properly lit.