The Ministry of Public Works (KKR) has rolled out a three-pronged maintenance approach to speed up repairs on damaged and pothole-prone federal roads, the Dewan Rakyat was informed today.
Deputy Minister Ahmad Maslan said the strategy comprises routine, periodic and emergency maintenance, all implemented through appointed federal road concessionaires nationwide. The approach, he explained, is designed to curb deterioration early while ensuring swift action where safety is at risk.
Routine maintenance, he noted, focuses on preventive works such as early pothole patching to stop minor defects from escalating. Periodic or scheduled maintenance, meanwhile, covers more comprehensive repairs involving both road surfaces and underlying structures. Such planned interventions are intended to extend road lifespan and reduce repeat damage, particularly on high-traffic stretches.
“For emergency situations, repairs are carried out immediately when damage poses a threat to road users. On federal roads, any detected pothole must be patched within 24 hours,” Ahmad Maslan told the House, underlining the ministry’s safety-first stance.
He was responding to a supplementary question by Zahari Kechik, who sought clarification on allocations for state road maintenance in 2024 and 2025, as well as measures to ensure damaged roads are addressed more effectively. Road upkeep, the deputy minister added, remains a shared responsibility across multiple agencies, requiring coordination beyond federal concessionaires alone.
Addressing concerns over maintenance disparities between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, Ahmad Maslan said Public Works Department allocations for federal roads in Sabah totalled RM341.7 million for 2025. He added that state and municipal roads fall under the purview of respective state governments, funded via the Malaysian Road Records Information System (Marris) allocations from the Finance Ministry.
“If roads continue to suffer from severe potholes, responsibility lies with the state governments, except for agricultural roads under the Agriculture Ministry and rural roads overseen by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry,” he said. These agencies, together with federal and state authorities, form the backbone of road maintenance across Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak and Sabah, as the government works to improve road safety and public confidence in infrastructure standards nationwide.
