KUANTAN: The Pahang state government hopes that the Federal Government will approve about RM400mil in allocations requested under Budget 2023 so that repairs and maintenance of federal roads can be carried out immediately.
State Public Works, Transport and Health Committee chairman Datuk Mohammad Fakhruddin Mohd Ariff said apart from the constraints in terms of allocations, flood disasters due to the unpredictable weather also contributed to the delay in repairing problematic roads.
However, he said the state government monitors and takes seriously all complaints received besides studying them with the Public Works Department (JKR) so that appropriate action can be taken.
"We have taken short-term measures by patching damaged road potholes first by using emergency provisions.
"Pahang needs more budget to better maintain 3,000km of federal roads, so if we get only 40% (allocation request) how are we going to maintain the roads," he told reporters after holding a briefing session with JKR here on Tuesday (Feb 21).
Earlier, the issue of damaged and potholed roads in Pahang had gone viral and received various reactions from social media users, apart from being blamed as one of the causes of accidents.
In addition, Mohammad Fakhruddin said heavy vehicles carrying excessive loads are also seen to be among the contributors to road damage and hoped those involved complied with the conditions set by the authorities regarding the permitted load capacity for the common good.
Meanwhile, he explained about the state government's initiative to act on public complaints over road damage within 24 hours.
"If it's a small thing we can repair it immediately but for major damage then it's not possible to repair it within 24 hours such as collapsed road," he said. - Bernama
