Last Updated: 4:54pm, Apr 29, 2014
GEORGE TOWN (April 29): Just what is it with the 20km stretch of the North South Expressway near Gua Tempurung, where at least 44 people have died and more than a hundred been injured in road accidents since 2011?
Dubbed as a “black spot”, the stretch from km291 to km310.8 of the expressway has become particularly infamous of late following the death of iconic politician and lawyer Karpal Singh in a vehicle crash there on April 17.
The latest person to express concerns about the safety of the stretch is Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor Chris Lee Chun Kit, who is also the state DAP deputy youth chief.
“It is proven beyond a shadow of doubt that something is very wrong with that particular stretch,” he said today, describing the section between as being pitch dark at night.
With its hilly slope and issues of traction on the road, the stretch warrants appropriate measures such as more lights and speed pacifiers to be installed there, he added.
In fact, on March 17, exactly a month before that accident, a Konsortium express bus had plunged into a ravine from km301.5 of the expressway, killing the driver and leaving two passengers seriously injured.
Karpal, 74, himself passed away when the Toyota Alphard he was being driven in slammed with a five-tonne lorry at km306.1 at 1.10am on April 17.
His assistant Michael Cornelius also died in the same accident, while Indonesian maid Selfiana Rengga was in critical condition and is now recuperating.
Speaking at a press conference today, Lee said the incident struck a deep chord as a 30-year old friend of his also died in a six-car pile-up at km302.2 on Oct 22, 2012.
“I have myself once experienced my car skidding along that stretch during heavy rain,” he said.
Action needed to curb further incidents
On April 21, DAP advisor and Karpal’s old colleague in the party Lim Kit Siang had also expressed concern at the “black spot” along the expressway.
He had noted police statistics revealing that there were 11 fatal accidents in 2011, 21 in 2012, 10 last year and two so far this year. The same statistics revealed that more than 100 people also suffered injuries in the accidents.
“What actions have the authorities, including the Ministry of Works and the NSE concessionaire PLUS Malaysia Bhd, (taken) to end the 20km of ‘killer black spots’ of the expressway near Gua Tempurung before more lives are lost through accidents?” he asked.
Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir has also asked PLUS to expand the width of the highway along that stretch.
He had reportedly said on April 21 that he was taken aback that 44 people had died along the 20km stretch since 2011, and stressed that such high figure warranted serious attention from the highway operator.
Zambry said he has raised the issue of highway safety several times publicly as well as with PLUS, and had reminded the highway operator about certain safety issues only two weeks before Karpal’s demise.
The site also drew self-styled “raja bomoh”, Datuk Ibrahim Mat Zin, to claim that the hillslopes and jungles through which the expressway cut through are natural haunts of spirits, and “ghosts, headless humans and apparitions of animals" had been reportedly seen here.
He told Suara TV that he was willing to fly in a helicopter from Johor Baru to Perlis and along the East Coast Expressway to get rid of the spirits free of charge.
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