Following the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) recent announcement to revamp the city, Alliance for Safe Community (Ikatan) chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye noted that the council should also focus on improving road quality and not just beautify the city’s iconic buildings.

According to a report by the New Straits Times, Lee said the state of roads in KL were affected by numerous construction projects over the years, and this is coupled with inconsistent or poor maintenance work.

“I have received many reports from the public that major roads conditions such as Jalan Tun Razak were left unmaintained and other main roads affected by construction sites were uneven after the job was done,” Lee told the publication.

“Recently DBKL announced that there will be renovations to touch up the heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur, including the Supreme Court. While the move is laudable, there is a concern about the city’s roads that are uneven and some with potholes. DBKL should turn its attention to the issue. It is about the safety of users,” he added.

Lee also emphasised that DBKL shouldn’t just monitor main roads, but also those within residential areas. The council was given RM120 million by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to upgrade several iconic buildings in the city, which include the old Federated Malay States (FMS) Survey Office and Supreme Court.

After the upgrade, DBKL planned to make the century-old cluster of colonial buildings at the junction of Jalan Raja and Jalan Tun Perak accessible to the public for free.