Not so long ago, investigators suspected that an alleged sidewalk construction corruption scheme led to losses totalling Rp 3.5 billion, not to mention crumbling and poorly maintained sidewalks. That is just one example of what many people believe to be a widespread problem in Indonesia, in which officials take shortcuts in infrastructure construction and pocket the difference themselves.
As shoddy as they are, at least Jakarta’s sidewalks are generally still in their intended place. Unlike this road in a remote area in South Kalimantan.
Well, this brings a whole new meaning to the term slippery road.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, lead researcher at The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), wrote in the tweet above that the layer of asphalt appears to have been uprooted and washed away by rain. He likened the road to plastic, but to us this surprisingly thin layer of asphalt looks like the construction equivalent of that skin that forms on the top of milk left undisturbed for too long.
Netizens suspect that this low quality, and frankly embarrassing, road was the result of infrastructure corruption.
The asphalt is folding up like car carpet. What percentage was corrupted from the infrastructure [project]?
Thin asphalt is not a problem as long as pockets are thick.
These are nothing but suspicions at this point, but we wouldn’t be surprised if this leads to a corruption investigation somewhere down the road.
