Between 2013 and 2014, Sarawak recorded a daily average of around 50 road accidents with one death. This meant within each of these years, more than 300 people lost their lives on the road.
Furthermore, research and statistics in Malaysia show that 68 per cent of road accidents occurred due to the behaviour of road users. The remaining 32 per cent resulted from conditions of roads, vehicles and the environment.
Considering this dire situation, the Sarawak Government realised the urgency to address the increase in road accidents in the State and opted to give immediate attention to problems related to the safety of road users.
This led to the development of ‘Road Safety is Our Joint Responsibility’, a High Performance Team (HPT) collaborative project between 11 government agencies and the local community in carrying out initiatives designed to reduce the number of accidents and the cost of road maintenance in Sarawak.
Headed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development (MIPD) – then the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications (MIDCom) – the project was implemented from 2015 to 2019, focusing on four roads representing different types of areas in Sarawak.
These roads – Jalan Matang, Kuching (suburban); Jalan Bintulu-Tanjung Kidurong, Bintulu (industrial); Jalan Airport, Miri (urban); Jalan Bakun-Murum, Bintulu (rural) – were selected due its high traffic volume, high accident rate, and, specifically for Jalan Bakun-Murum, high maintenance cost.
Under the HPT project, various activities were performed, prioritising efforts to change attitudes of road users. They were achieved via an action plan based on the 3Es of road safety: Enforcement, Engineering and Education.
- Enforcement (lead agencies:Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), Road Transport Department (JPJ), Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP) Sarawak) aims to enhance compliance with traffic rules, and increase perception of being caught (POBC) among road users.
- Engineering (lead agency: Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak) focuses on developing and improving road conditions, as well as establishing more ‘forgiving roads’ – roads that are of better quality and with safety features installed, which are safer for traffic flow and road users.
- Education (lead agency: Road Safety Department (JKJR) Sarawak) involves campaigns and related programmes that seek to raise awareness of road safety culture among road users.
Despite the success of the HPT project due to the 3E strategy (Table 1), much is needed to be done to enhance the strategy, stated YBhg Datu Haji Safri bin Haji Zainudin.
In an interview with RAKAN Sarawak, the former permanent secretary of MIPD who was in charge of the project throughout its implementation noted that Jalan Matang, for instance, is still being enhanced to become more ‘forgiving’, whether through road widening or additional traffic light installations.
He also opined that in terms of enforcement, there should be considerations of investing in the latest technology such as drones not only to oversee traffic, but to overcome manpower challenges faced by traffic enforcement agencies.
The most important aspect of the project to him, however, is education. Of all the challenges he faced during the project, changing the mentality and behaviour of road users remained an arduous task.
Thus, while there have been dialogues with businesses to promote road safety, he hoped for more efforts to be done in primary schools, for it is much easier to teach children the importance of being safe on the road than as they grow older.
“Yes, changing human behaviour is the greatest challenge of all.
“But, as I said we are not giving up. This is just the beginning, it’s the pilot project. Even though it may not be so successful, there is still room for improvement. So I believe the next group may be able to continue it,” said Datu Haji Safri.
Indeed, the project has since been extended beyond being an HPT solution. In 2020, a memorandum of agreement was signed between Sarawak Road Safety Council (SRSC) and UNIMAS Holdings Sdn Bhd, where the latter was appointed to prepare the Sarawak Road Safety Strategic Plan for 2021-2025.
This is to ensure that the safety of road users in Sarawak continues to be given due attention, at the same time using systematic methods to reduce accidents and deaths on the road.
Additionally, as the role of MIPD has shifted to focus more on infrastructure development in the State, SRSC which it previously oversaw has been under the purview of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) Sarawak since 2022, evidence of the longevity and significance of the HPT project.
| NAME OF ROAD | ISSUE | TARGETED RESULT | ACTUAL RESULT (2019) |
| Jalan Matang, Kuching (Mile 4 – Mile 10) | 9 deaths (2014) | Number of deaths due to road accident reduced by 20% | Overall, Number of road accidents reduced by 16%Number of deaths due to road accidents reduced by 36% |
| Jalan Bintulu-Tanjung Kidurong | 21 deaths (2014) | ||
| Jalan Airport, Miri Traffic Light Junction to Bintang Plaza | 10 deaths (2014) | ||
| Jalan Bakun-Murum | Vehicle overload resulted in an expenditure of RM62.50 million to maintain road in the last five years (up to 2014) | Periodic road maintenance costs reduced by 50% | Periodic road maintenance costs reduced by 86.16% (2015-2019), i.e., cost spend on maintaining road is only RM8.65 million |
Table 1: Summary of before and after implementation of HPT Solution 2015: Road Safety is Our Joint Responsibility (Source: Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development)
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Members of HPT Solution 2015: Road Safety is Our Joint Responsibility
- Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development (Lead Agency and Secretariat)
- State Financial Secretary
- Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak
- Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM)
- Road Transport Department (JPJ)
- Road Safety Department (JKJR); now absorbed into JPJ
- Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (LPKP)
- Kuching North City Hall (DBKU)
- Sarawak Implementation Monitoring Unit (SIMU)
- Bumiputera Entrepreneur Development Unit/Halal Hub Unit (UPUB/HH); now absorbed into the Ministry of International Trade, Industry and Investment Sarawak (MINTRED)
- Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC)
Source: Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development
