On Nov 7, a corporal with the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) who was travelling to work on a rainy morning hit a pothole filled with water as he could not see it.
The 28-year-old Mohd Husaini Mohd Nasir lost control of his motorcycle and fell off his machine before being run over by a lorry.
Unfortunately, the airman died at the scene from major head injuries. Police said then that the accident was being investigated for causing death by driving recklessly.
The Public Works Department (JKR) was silent, so was Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). No one was outraged nor did anyone apologise for the death which could have been avoided if the authorities had acted promptly to patch the pothole.
No one knew how long the government authority responsible for that stretch of the road took to repair the road, if they ever did. Besides his accident claims, the later officer was most likely not compensated for the negligence of the authorities.
Fast forward to Dec 27. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy
Jamaluddin was riding his racing bicycle somewhere in Banting. He hit a pothole, fell off the bicycle and suffered injuries as a result.
In a Twitter post following the incident, Khairy said: “Pothole, ditch, KJ. 2020 keeps giving.” The 3.23pm post showed photographs of the pothole and a bicycle by the nearby ditch.
Khairy also shared a picture of his injuries which showed bruises on his left forehead, nose and mouth.
His aide, Raja Syahrir Abu Bakar, said the minister suffered minor injuries and that there was nothing serious and thanked everyone for their concern.
Now, this is the best part. Slightly more than five hours later at 8.42pm, the Kuala Langat JKR responded to Khairy on Twitter. It said: “Kuala Langat JKR apologises for the incident that befell the minister, will take immediate action over the issue and pray for YB’s speedy recovery.”
Banting falls under the jurisdiction of the Kuala Langat district.
Having been a journalist for several decades, I have written, edited or read countless number of cases of motorcyclists in Malaysia being maimed or killed after hitting potholes.
I cannot recall even one incident of JKR or any local authorities responsible for road maintenance having apologised, let alone take responsibility for such incidents.
Obviously, JKR has chosen to practise double standards similar to incidents where VIPs were let off with a rap on their knuckles for violating Covid-19 quarantine rules while Joe Public has to face the full brunt of the law.
The action of JKR exposes the pervasive culture that is turning Malaysia into a society that respects and places more importance on the affluent and those in power.
A study by a local university on causes of road accidents in Malaysia had shown that 11.25% of the total road traffic deaths are related to road defects. This does not include those maimed.
Of these, about 49% are associated with lack of street lighting provision, while
potholes contribute 15.4%.
These are painful for the families of victims, and we know they are mostly from
the lower income category who depend on motorcycles and bicycles for commuting to work or school.
Someone has to answer or pay for all the deaths and injuries caused by negligence, poor workmanship and even corruption that had caused accidents of this nature on our roads.
In the meantime, I hope JKR at all levels will act as promptly as they did to Khairy’s “mishap”. I am sure the pothole would have been filled by the time you read this.
All pothole accidents must become national news. Otherwise, Malaysians may start hoping that more VIPs will hit potholes and fall off their machines to make our roads better and safer.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.