WEF Says Malaysian Roads Are Better Than Australia and UK. Really?

A survey conducted by the World Economic Forum has ranked the quality of roads in Malaysia as the 19^th best in the world.

According to results tabulated by the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, the quality of roads in Malaysia have been given a score of 5.6 out of a maximum score of seven, tying it with South Korea, but ahead of Australia (ranked 43^rd, score of 4.8), and United Kingdom (ranked 30^th, score 5.2).

Of course, the rankings are derived from an opinion survey rather than an objective study so it should not be regarded as a universal truth.  

Any Malaysian motorist that regularly drives or rides here will tell you that the survey results are far from true. In fact, we find the results quite amusing.

Just ask actor and bike enthusiast ‘Lando’ Azlan Sani Zawawi, who is well known for his activism work in pressuring local councils to get their acts together and fix the horrendous potholes on many of our roads.

While potholes might be annoying to drivers, and might even cause damage to the tyres, wheels and suspensions, they can be fatal to bikers who might be thrown off their machines.

Fed up with the inaction of local authorities, Lando and his friends have resorted to pulling together their own funds to patch up our roads, only to be given a stern warning by the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur.

Something must be quite wrong when tax paying citizens have to take it upon themselves to do the work of the local authorities.

What do you think? Do our roads deserve to be ranked 19^th best in the world?

Image from Bloomberg and Lando Zawawi