If you live in the city, driving can be a horrendous nightmare.
According to a research conducted by the University of Michigan, “Malaysia is among the top 25 most dangerous countries for road users, with 30 fatalities per 100,000 individuals”. In response to the study, researcher Brandon Schoettle suggested that “development is playing a huge role in it”.
Moreover, according to the statistics from the Ministry of Transport, a total of 400,788 road accidents were documented in the first nine months of 2017 leading to 6,083 road deaths. It is not a surprise that the total number of deaths due to road accidents have gone up year after year.
Driving here in Malaysia can be quite frustrating and unsatisfying. Let us be straightforward, it is not rational to blame damage to roads on the weather or to label them as the “acts of God”.
In the Klang Valley, including around the nation’s capital, poor road conditions are not isolated cases and seem to be perennial problems for both, the motorists and the authorities. Nonetheless, digging and paving works are a common sight on Malaysian roads.
Poorly maintained roads can damage spokes, rims, suspensions, dashboards, braking systems, tyres, rims and the list goes on… Money spent on maintenances would easily cause a dent in one’s wallet. As a result, we can say that driving in Malaysia can be monetarily, emotionally and physically painful.
Usually, roads can last up to seven years before they need to be resurfaced. Due to the lack of funds, we do not do that in Malaysia.
In an interview, Works Minister Baru Bian mentioned that some RM2 billion was needed annually for road maintenance works, but unfortunately, the ministry’s budget for this was only between RM600 million and RM800 million. Budget constraints in Malaysia do significantly led to poor maintenance of federal roads and other infrastructure under the works ministry
DBKL Civil Engineering and Urban Transportation Department’s director Abdul Hamid Surip reported that the constructed checks have been carried out and the results have shown that 70% of potholes and damaged roads are mainly caused by sub-par remedial works by contractors (especially those engaged by utility and development companies). Regarding the statement made by the director, he further explained that irresponsible third-party contractors often fail to meet specifications while carrying out the projects, which lead to damaged roads. Such issues also arise from illegal road works. Sometimes, the projects to repairs were given to and performed by unlicensed and unconstrained firms.
According to the news reported, all four authorities (MHA, PWD, DBKL,MBPJ) agreed that once the third-party contractors are involved, the spiral towards Malaysia’s infamous roads then begin.
Let’s look at the matter in this way, if the roads in cities such as Penang and Kuala Lumpur can be in such a bad conditions, it is hard to picture what road conditions in some rural areas In Malaysia are going to be like.
That is why they said Malaysian drivers are therefore infamously glorified as capable of driving anywhere in the world. This statement, however, without empirically backed data, illustrates the dreadful conditions of Malaysian roads and many of its drivers.
