KUCHING, May 30 — The state Road Transport Department (JPJ) was urged today to ban heavy vehicles, such as trailers, from travelling along the Sarawak roads which are jammed with other motorists going to their longhouses and villages for the Gawai Dayak celebration.
Sarawak Reform Party (STAR) president Lina Soo said she believes that there is a ban on heavy vehicles for Hari Raya from June 1 to 3 and June 8 to 9, but there is no such ruling is in place for the Sarawak Gawai season.
She said the JPJ should have imposed the ban on heavy vehicles on Sarawak during the Gawai period, from May 29 to 31 and June 3 to 4.
She said the tragic accident involving a trailer and a sports utility vehicle (SUV) at Km42 of the Bintulu-Miri coastal road yesterday that claimed the lives of three women and seriously injured seven others could have been avoided if the ban on heavy vehicles was imposed.
“I admit that accidents do happen, but if the ban on heavy vehicles had been in place in Sarawak during the Gawai period, the impact would have been prevented, or less severe in the event of an accident involving other vehicles,” she said.
Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS Baru) deputy president Andrew Puro also made a similar call to the state JPJ, saying that heavy vehicles, such as trailers and lorries, need to be taken off the roads before and after festive occasions, like Gawai Dayak and Hari Raya.
He said the presence of these vehicles on the roads is posing danger to other road users.
“We urge the authorities to ensure that these vehicles are not travelling in a reckless manner which may end up leading to fatal accidents,” he said.
Puro noted that thousands of vehicles will be packing the Sarawak roads with people going back to their longhouses and villagers for the Gawai Dayak and immediately followed by Hari Raya.
He advised motorists travelling along the on-going construction of the Pan Borneo Highway to exercise extra careful as certain sections of the roads are narrow and uneven.
