IPOH – The Perak government has applied for part of the additional allocation of RM250 million announced by the federal government to repair damaged federal roads in the state.
State Infrastructure, Energy, Water, and Public Transport executive councillor, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, said the state government had applied in accordance with the prescribed procedures after the allocation was announced.
“We are requesting (an allocation) to repair federal roads based on complaints received from periodic monitoring related to road quality.
“It is true that these federal roads have fallen into neglect and need to be maintained. In fact, we have identified the roads that need to be urgently repaired in a detailed report to the Finance Ministry for immediate action and I hope it is approved,” he said at the Sg Rapat assemblyman’s Aidilfitri function at Taman Lapangan Jaya near here today.
Also present were Communications, Multimedia, and NGO executive councillor Mohd Azlan Helmi and Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing.
On April 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, said the government had allocated an additional RM250 million for maintenance purposes after taking into account the availability and quality of federal roads.
It brings the provision for periodic maintenance of federal roads announced in Budget 2023 to RM1 billion.
Nizar added that he was aware that the provision announced is for roads throughout the country, but he requested that the government address the federal roads in Perak.
“Why we contend that Perak needs attention is because the state government wants to upgrade the East-West Highway connecting Gerik in Perak and Jeli in Kelantan (at accident-prone spots).
“We have highlighted this matter to the ministry because it involves matters of development and the socio-economic welfare of the people of Perak that need to be taken into account and considered by the federal government,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the current hot weather, Nizar said the water levels at the the main dams in the state are still at the maximum level and have not shown a significant decrease despite the heatwave.
Nizar said a report issued by the Perak Water Board (LAP) found that the water levels at the dams under the board’s supervision were still under control and not at the danger level.
“The dams from Temenggor (in Gerik) to Teluk Intan have not experienced a decline where the water levels have reached a critical level and we are confident that we will be able to meet the needs of the people, even though we are now experiencing hot weather.
“We will ensure that the water processed by LAP for domestic use is sufficient, besides for agricultural use in the northern region. For now there is no need to press the panic button because there is enough water,” he said. – Bernama, May 6, 2023
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