Highway users involved in accidents caused by damaged road surfaces are eligible to claim compensation from the relevant authorities, with one motorist recently awarded more than RM700,000 in damages, Johor’s executive councillor for Public Works, Transport, Infrastructure and Communications, Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh, said, as long as the claims were supported by clear evidence and documentation.
He revealed that a compensation amount of RM721,000 was awarded by the Johor Bahru Sessions Court after a motorist suffered losses linked to road damage.
“If an accident or vehicle damage occurs due to a damaged road, users can make a claim to the concessionaire who supervises the route.
“Among the important steps is to take pictures of the accident and vehicle damage, pictures of the road damage, and include details of the location, time of incident, police report and relevant receipts.
“An official letter can then be sent to the agencies involved, such as the local authority (PBT), Public Works Department (JKR) or the Malaysian Highways Authority (LLM),” he said during a question-and-answer session at the Johor State Legislative Assembly (DUN) in Kota Iskandar in May.
Mohamad Fazli also announced that the Johor Government would continue to address traffic congestion in Johor Bahru city by implementing the FT005 federal road upgrade project, which includes the construction of a cloverleaf and flyover from U-Turn to the Pulai Perdana Intersection.
He stated that this project had received preliminary work approval under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) for RM42 million, which included design work and land acquisition.
“Improvements to the traffic system have been implemented from FT005 to the Pontian district, and several visit sessions with representatives from the JKR road branch and the Ministry of Public Works (KKR) were held at the project site in October 2024.”
“This preliminary work is expected to be fully completed by July 2025,” he stated.
He stated that following the approval, the state government submitted a new application to the federal government via the 13th RMK to implement the entire project, which is worth RM458 million.
The proposed project entails improving the route from Skudai to the Ulu Choh-Gelang Patah junction, which includes building a cloverleaf to the entrance of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and widening the road from UTM to Pulai Perdana.
