HPUC AND SANDAKAN HIRE LORRY TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION MEET TO DISCUSS ISSUES

Taren Sunil (seated 2nd right) with fellow committees and Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association representatives during the meeting

 SANDAKAN : The Highway & Public Utilities Committee (HPUC) held a meeting with the Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association to sort out several issues, one of which is the indiscriminate parking of lorries in Sandakan.

 This was stated by the HPUC chairman Taren Sunil Manoharan after he and his delegation met with Steven Chua Pui Ming, Chairman of the Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association and his fellow committee members.

 The meeting took place at the office of the Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association.

 “We discussed the problem of uncontrolled parking of lorries in Sandakan,” said Taren Sunil.

 According to him, the indiscriminate parking of lorries in housing areas and other public places has caused many problems for the Sandakan Municipal Council.

 “We have received a lot of complaints from the public. Many of these complaints come from residents of housing estates where parked lorries obstructed the roads causing great inconvenience to the residents living there,” said Taren Sunil

 “Furthermore, due to their size and weight, these lorries cause severe damage to drains and curbs. Sidewalks and even the housing roads themselves have cracked or crumbled under their weigh. The Sandakan Municipal Council will then have to bear the cost for repair of such damage,” he added.

 Taren Sunil pointed out that the issue of public safety also needed to be taken into consideration as lorries parked at the wrong places obscure the view of motorists and could cause accidents.

 Meanwhile, representatives from the Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association clarified that their association actually has a parking depot for lorries located at Jalan Datuk Tay, off Jalan Lai Fook KIm. It has been there for many years but is under-utilized.

 As a first step, the Highway & Public Utilities Committee promised to look into ways to encourage lorry owners and drivers to make full use of the parking depot owned by the Sandakan Hire Lorry Transport Association.

 “Maybe due to the parking regulations not being fully or strictly imposed, some lorry owners and drivers have been parking their vehicles wherever they liked. HPUC will do our best to advise and persuade them to comply with the rules. However, if they refuse, we will have no choice but to seek the assistance of the appropriate authorities such as JPJ, Police, LPKP and the MPS enforcement team to work together to try to overcome this problem,” said Taren Sunil.

“We understand that some owners may find the place a bit far and are therefore reluctant to use the Association’s lorry parking depot. However, they must understand that there are safety issues at stake and these should be given priority,” he reminded.