Despite the announcement by Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof that the federal government has allocated RM1.08 billion for the maintenance of federal roads throughout the country this year, there seems to be plenty of roads that still need fixing.
In Sabah, the roads are apparently so horrendous that people have joked that it’s the main reason why there are no mat rempits there, whilst some citizens have even taken matters into their own hands by fixing the roads themselves.
Recently, a Sabahan MP who holds the constituency of Sepanggar in Kota Kinabalu took to Facebook to express his frustration over the lack of help the government is awarding.
In the post Mohd Azis Bin Jamman wrote, “The government takes so long, so we do it by ourselves!”
“Maybe those of us who have never lost a family member due to the terrible road conditions will never be able to understand the issue. These types of tragedy knows no parties, race or religion.”
“Recently, I received more complaints about the road conditions and I have personally seen videos. In the afternoon, I bought a compact machine/plate compactor to use to spread out the tar that will be used by volunteers from Sepanggar,” he said.
Azis added that like it or not, as a leader, he is forced to find a solution for the issue. “This is not a move just to get votes or the sympathy of the rakyat. But it shouldn’t be the task of an opposition MP to settle these issues because it’s supposed to be for the ruling government.”
“I have brought up the issue of road conditions as well as water issues in Sepanggar several times in parliament. They control all of the provisions. The allocation was not even distributed to me,” he added.
“But I understand that maybe the state government does not receive enough allocation from the federal government. So I took the decision and initiative to act with funds and machinery that I had myself.”
To conclude, Azis wrote, “To the contributors, I say a million thanks for being willing to contribute and share the hardships with the people. Hopefully the donation you give will be blessed by God and surely this donation will benefit the people.”
Following his initial post, Azis has also shared several videos and pictures of the work that him and his team of volunteers has done in terms of road works.
Criticised for only doing work nearing an election
His posts were largely met with applause as netizens praised him for taking the initiative to provide a real change to his constituency.
However, some cybertroopers claimed that he was only doing it to gain the votes of the rakyat. In response to such claim, Azis shared a post which said, “Cybertroopers say that I’m only doing work because it’s almost election time.”
“The problem is that the government did not do it even though it was close to the general election. They didn’t do it near the general election, and after the general election they won’t be doing it, indicating the government’s failure to deal with the people’s basic problems.”
“Problems with water, roads, electricity and street lights have led many road users to have accidents and many people have died,” he added.
Kudos to Azis for taking the initiative to improve his community for the better and to ensure the safety of road users within his constituency.
