Prioritise road safety after tourists killed in Semporna accidents — Warisan

KOTA KINABALU: The government has been urged to prioritise road safety and speed up road maintenance and repair works following two fatal accidents involving foreign tourists in Semporna.

Warisan Wira chief Terence Au said the recent mishap involving a Singaporean man and a Vietnamese woman along the Semporna-Tawau road is concerning and sorrowful.

Acknowledging State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew’s intention to explore ways to enhance road safety with the authorities, Au said there is a delay in addressing these issues.

“A similar accident occurred on the same route last November, resulting in the loss of a Chinese tourist’s life,” he said.

He said the delay is concerning because the Semporna–Tawau route serves as an access road for those heading to the Tawau airport.

“We urge the government to prioritise the implementation of concrete solutions to ensure the safety of all who travel on Sabah’s roads,” he added in a statement on Wednesday.

Liew, who is currently on a tourism promotion tour in Europe, said she would discuss improvement of road safety measures involving the accident-prone Jalan TawauSemporna, with Ken Pan Ying On who is in charge of tourism development in Tawau and Semporna.

Au also said that Sabah road conditions are notorious and added that many foreign tourists have given negative reviews online.

“Do not wait until these European countries issue another travel advisory on Sabah for having dangerous roads before acting,” he said.

On Monday, two tourists were killed and five others were injured after the tour van collided with a trailer at about 3.30pm.

Police have detained the 29year-old lorry driver to assist in investigations.

Last November, a 56-yearold Chinese tourist was killed following a collision between a tour bus and a lorry along the same stretch.

Fourteen other bus passengers, all from China, aged between 30 and 60, escaped unhurt.