GEORGE TOWN: Four policemen proved to be the unsung heroes following an accident on the Penang bridge yesterday, which saw traffic gridlocked all the way to the mainland.
"We did whatever we could to ensure the traffic flow returned to normal and quickly."
Corporal Azidin Ahamad recalled how he and three of his colleagues took the initiative to clear tonnes of sand which covered the whole of the three-lane Penang Bridge heading towards the island after a sand-laden lorry overturned yesterday morning.
Azidin and Corporals Mohd Nazri Zainal Abidin, Mohd Zain Mohamed Nor and Noor Ridzwan Mat had since been recognised as the unsung heroes.
The accident, one of the worst in the last two years, resulted in a 6km traffic crawl from the Km7.9 point of the bridge onwards to the mainland.
The four policemen from a special unit in charge of traffic at Penang Bridge were initially deployed to the scene to monitor the situation and report back to the control room on the accident.
However, they took the liberty to clear off the sand from the road using shovels to open up two lanes to ease the backed-up traffic on the bridge.
Azidin, when contacted by the New Straits Times, said that they did not receive any instructions from their higher authorities to clear the sand on the bridge.
At the same time, he said, they could not stand to see the ever-growing traffic snaking on the bridge following the accident, hence, they decided to 'manage' the situation by clearing the mess themselves.
"If it is a solid item like ice cubes or meat, it can be easily carried to the side of the road but this was something else...on a whole new level of difficulty - sand.
"We refused to stand there and do nothing about it. I know how it feels to be stuck in a massive traffic congestion.
"So, we asked for help from other lorries plying the road if they had shovels. We then used them to clear up the road and opened up two lanes to ease the congestion.
Yesterday, a lorry laden with sand overturned after one of its tyres punctured while plying the stretch and crashed into the divider at km7.6, spilling its content across the whole road in the 11.15am incident.
Traffic police and PLUS Malaysia Berhad personnel were deployed to the scene as soon as they received reports on the accident.
The road was fully cleared and reopened by 3pm.
Today, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng presented RM250 and certificates of appreciation to each of the four traffic policemen at his office in Komtar for their efforts.
"Instead of being the usual traffic policemen who monitor the traffic, they got down dirty and cleared the sand spill by themselves.
“This is an example for others, that at times, we must go the extra mile for the people," he said.
Also present were Penang police chief Commissioner Datuk A Thaiveegan and state secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus.