Proposed Traffic Management Unit to tackle traffic woes By Peter Sibon
KUCHING: The worsening traffic congestion in major towns and cities in the state will be addressed by the proposed Traffic Management Unit (TMU) of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Transportation.
Minister of Infrastructure Development and Transportation Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Masing said he is now waiting for the State Secretary’s Office to recruit the right people for the unit.
“I am now waiting for the SS to get the right people for the proposed unit. It would take some time to materialise but we are hoping that it could be set up by middle of this year,” Masing told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He disclosed that the proposed TMU is necessary to tackle traffic woes throughout the state as it is not getting any better by the day.
“The state government is aware of the increasing traffic problem. So we are going to tackle it head-on. You can see that traffic problem is not getting any better by the day,” he stressed.
He added that once everything is in place, he would inform the State Cabinet of the progress of the proposed TMU.
According to Masing, amongst its many duties, the unit will study how his ministry could manage traffic flow to reduce traffic jams in towns and cities in Sarawak.
“It will be led by personnel who are well qualified to administer traffic flow and its characteristics. We must nip the traffic problem in the bud before it gets worse in years to come,” he stressed.
On a related issue, Masing said he would be meeting bus operators soon on how to improve public transportation in Kuching and Samarahan.
It was reported by The Borneo Post recently that the Sarawak Bus Transport Companies Association (SBTCA) was hoping that the government would expedite the finalisation of an agreement to launch the Stage Bus Service Transformation (SBST) project in Kuching and Samarahan.
SBTCA honorary secretary William Chan was quoted as saying that he was aware that Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato Sri Nancy Shukri had announced that the agreement between Putrajaya and a consortium here could be sealed next month.
Chan said the consortium, called Konsortium BBK Sdn Bhd (KBBK), was ready for the project but could not proceed with the next step without the agreement.
“We are ready anytime. We hope the government can expedite (the signing) as Kuching has been waiting too long for this project. She (Nancy) targeted signing in April, we hope the latest by end of the month.
“If the agreement is signed now, people in Kuching will see the new bus system same time next year,” Chan had told The Borneo Post recently.
Chan said the consortium is made up of five companies - Bau Transport Company Sdn Bhd, Biaramas Express Sdn Bhd, City Public Link Bus Service Sdn Bhd, Petra Jaya Transport (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd and Sarawak Transport Company Bhd, all members of SBTCA.