KUALA LUMPUR – Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin did not only suffer minor injuries from his cycling accident yesterday, but had also lost consciousness.
In a WhatsApp conversation with The Vibes, the Rembau MP said that he had to go through a CT scan and spent the night at a hospital as a result of a bicycle accident caused by a pothole.
Khairy, who tweeted about the incident, received a quick reply from the Kuala Langat Public Works Department (JKR) apologising for the incident.
JKR Kuala Langat memohon maaf ke atas kejadian yang menimpa YB. Menteri dan akan mengambil tindakan segera ke atas isu berkenaan dan mendoakan YB cepat sembuh.
— JkrKualaLangat (@JkrKualaLangat) December 27, 2020
“Although I appreciate JKR promptly repairing the pothole that caused my crash, I do hope they also respond as quickly to potholes that endanger everyone,” Khairy told The Vibes.
He said that Malaysians must hold road maintenance to higher standards for everyone, not just ministers.
Khairy acknowledged that these potholes pose an especially severe risk for motorcyclists who may end up trying to avoid these craters.
“There must be a better system to monitor and fix these holes because they don’t just cause bumps in the road but can potentially endanger people’s lives,” he added.
After Kuala Langat JKR’s tweet, the department received a flood of scathing replies from netizens.
Some netizens said JKR practised double standards, suggesting that the department would only respond to ministers, but not everyday citizens complaining about potholes.
Another comment pointed out that there have been deaths caused by potholes, but JKR has yet to extend apologies to the families of the deceased. – The Vibes, December 28, 2020
