Kampung of broken promises?

A second bridge in Labu’s Kampung Batu 8 is dangerously close to collapsing.

SEREMBAN: The Negeri Sembilan government might as well rename Kampung Batu 8 in Labu as the Land of Broken Bridges if it is going to ignore the danger that road users in the community are facing.

This suggestion was made by local PKR chief Mokhtar Ahmad as he spoke about the state of disrepair of two bridges in the kampung.

Last month, a FMT report highlighted the case of a bridge connecting Kampung Batu 8 to Kampung Padang Bola, which collapsed and became unusable four months ago after heavy rain. The authorities have done nothing about it.

Yesterday, Mokhtar invited a FMT reporter to accompany him on an inspection of another bridge that looks like it is ready to collapse anytime. This bridge is the main access to Kampung Batu 8 from the Seremban-Labu road.

At each end of the bridge, part of the tarred road has collapsed, leaving a hole large enough for an adult person to fall into. Someone has covered one of the holes with a plank apparently ripped from a wooden door. The other hole remains gaping.

“Both holes are getting bigger every day due to erosion,” Mokhtar said. “I guess it’s only a matter of time before this bridge too collapses.”

He alleged that the holes first became apparent about a year ago. “I wonder what’s keeping the village committee or [Labu state assemblyman] Hasim Rusdi from taking action.”

Mokhtar said a motorcyclist recently fell into the river when he tried to avoid falling into one of the holes.

The bridge connects Kampung Batu 8 to Kampung Tengah, Kampung Jawa, Kampung Merbau Condong, Kampung Kering, Kampung Pelegong and Kampung Padang Bola.

Kampung Pelegong is an Orang Asli village and has a home-stay programme for tourists. It is a popular site for official government functions.

“Altogether, there are about 300 houses in these villages,” Mokhtar said, adding that nearly 1,000 motorists use the bridge every day to go to work or take their children to school.

Alluding to this year’s Merdeka celebration theme, the two bridges were symbolic of Barisan Nasional’s broken promises.