Pothole Crusader Lando Zawawi Exposes Political Flaws, Corruption Result In Bad Roads

Malaysia is ranked 48th out of 59 countries with the 12th worst roads in the world, according to the  US-based online driver's education company Zutobi. The report saw Malaysia sustain a drop in road quality of 5.19% over the past five years.
Fixing Malaysia's roads requires more than patchwork solutions, as road safety activist Azlan Sani Zawawi, also known as Lando Zawawi, has pointed out.
In a recent interview with our very own Senior Editor, Thoriq Azmi, via the Tekan Habis podcast episode, Lando emphasised that political influences and corruption worsen the situation, with partiality contributing to the prioritisation of some areas while disregarding others because of political affiliations.


According to his account of his experience running for the Tanjong Karang parliamentary seat in the most recent general election, he was constantly contacted by contractors attempting to "book" him with political contributions in the event that he was chosen to serve in parliament.
The founder of Ikatan Silaturahim Brotherhood asserted that after a candidate is elected, the contractors would approach them for contracts to fix roads in return for their support.
"During that time (campaigning period), this contractor called, that contractor called, and I was puzzled about why they were calling me. It turns out they all wanted to 'book' me. But the bookings were not just for me, they were 'booking' everyone involved (all the candidates),” Lando confided in the podcast.

"Because what these contractors are doing is taking a chance. Whoever wins, will there be a job? This is the reality; I already know. Corruption is the No.1 (factor for road issues). Politics is just an instrument," he revealed.

He also questioned the transparency of road projects, citing the dubious tendering process. Unqualified contractors could be awarded, resulting in subpar road construction and maintenance.

Lando stated that the incidents he encountered had been reported to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) referring to these "political contributions" as the highest form of corruption.
The activist also questioned the Public Works Department's (PWD) installation of glow-in-the-dark road paint last year, claiming it was unsuitable because, according to Lando, the paint was only meant for indoor use after looking up the product's International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code.