Expressing his disappointment, Bintulu Member of Parliament Dato Seri Tiong King Sing said this was because many school buses had refused to pick up the pupils from various longhouses or villages because they dared not use the bad road.

He said operators of school buses claimed they had to incur more expenses in repairing their vehicles after using the road which would not only turn soggy after the rain but also had many potholes.

Tiong said he had highlighted the incident to PWD in his previous visit to the rural area in Sebauh sub-district. He told them to treat the problem as urgent and repair the road fast. 

“I was informed that PWD would require some 2000 tonnes of gravel and the department did not have such quantity of gravel,” he said.

He commented that PWD should have made early preparations in view of the rainy season at the end of the year when landslides, road damage and related incidents were likely to occur.

Furthermore, Tiong disclosed that some rural folks had complained to him that some 600 tonnes of gravel had been sent to a site for repair works but the PWD contractor’s workers were nowhere to be seen.

Tiong said this state of affairs - no gravel, no men - was unacceptable. 
He stressed that PWD should make it a point to ensure its contractors carry out projects promptly and efficiently. 

“We want these school going children to go back to school as soon as possible as they have missed so many lessons already.”

Tiong also asked PWD to apply for more allocations from its headquarters or the Works Ministry if insufficient funding was the cause of such work delays.