Tour guide's video exposes potholes, pleads for action
KOTA KINABALU - Sabah's tourism reputation is taking a hit due to the deplorable condition of the Telupid-Batu 32 highway leading to Sandakan Airport.
A recent 54-second video by a tour guide highlighted the pothole-ridden road, showcasing a reality far from the state's pristine image.
Landrico M. Lerado Jr., a tour guide for 31 years, shared the video after driving 30 foreign tourists to Sandakan Airport on Monday.
He was forced to leave Sukau early, at 8.30am, to avoid congestion caused by the road's state.
"Normally, the airport journey takes two hours.
"But with traffic congestion caused by the damaged road, it can stretch to three and a half hours," he told Sinar when contacted.
Landrico said that the situation is very embarrassing because Sabah is famous for its tourism products but has not yet been able to provide perfect facilities for its people and tourists visiting the state.
"We are very embarrassed when faced with tourists.
"There are even tourists who question even though we are already in 2024 but the roads are still bad.
"Due to the condition of the damaged road, many accidents have occurred along the route, even when some lives have been lost just because they wanted to avoid potholes.
"When an accident occurs, road users including tourists are also stranded in traffic congestion as happened recently where some tourists were stranded for over two hours on the route and ultimately affected the schedule or activities of the tourists themselves," he said.
As the main route to Sepilok and Sandakan Airport, Landrico pleaded with the responsible authorities to address the critical condition of the highway.
