Safe passage: MBJB has placed LED lights on all city centre lamp posts under JKR.
JOHOR BARU: A group of basikal lajak (modified bicycle) riders used to congregate in large groups along roads near Kampung Mahmoodiah, said village imam Masri Sapiran.
The 51-year-old said the teenagers would usually gather there during the weekends or school holidays.
“They liked coming here because of the hilly road; they would usually race from Jalan Mahmoodiah near the Sultanah Aminah Hospital mortuary down towards Jalan Yahya Awal, then from there to Jalan Lingkaran Dalam or Jalan Gertak Merah,” he said here yesterday.
Things have changed, he said, since the car crash that killed eight teenagers six years ago.
“There have been no new cases of teenagers and kids playing with their modified bicycles in Kampung Mahmoodiah,” said Masri, who is also an imam at the Mahmoodiah Royal Mausoleum.
Masri said the police had also given their word that they would take serious action against any teenager and their family who are caught carrying out this dangerous act.
Restaurant helper Yazid Fadloli, 39, also remembers an incident where he almost ran over some of the mat lajak at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, after closing shop past midnight a week before the tragic accident occurred.
“It was dark, and their bicycles did not have any reflective panels, so imagine what would happen if they came in from the blind side of a large vehicle,” he said.
Yazid said he hoped the tragedy would serve as a lesson for all members of the public.
Kampung Tarom resident, Azila Harun, 39, said although there were no more mat lajak cases in the villages nearby, there had been more cycling activities involving adults.
“They would park their cars at Dataran Bandaraya Johor Baru, cycle up towards Jalan Tun Abdul Razak via Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, and then cut through Hutan Bandar Johor Baru before completing their lap via Jalan Kolam Ayer.
“The cycling accident should have been a lesson for all that bicycles do not belong on the road, especially where there is a huge amount of traffic.
“The dangerous areas are in front of Hutan Bandar, as we cannot see them coming from the other side of the hill, so drivers would need to be extra careful when travelling there,” she added.
Johor Baru mayor Datuk Noorazam Osman said that the city council (MBJB) had taken over the task of improving the lighting system from the Public Works Department (JKR) since 2020.
“This is not only for Jalan Lingkaran Dalam but for all roads under JKR that have been repaired by MBJB at a cost of RM25mil.
“They involve changing lamp posts with LED lights and repairing cables and broken feeder pillars,” he added.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail allowed Sam Ke Ting’s appeal and set aside her conviction and sentence in the case on the grounds that her charge was defective.
