Abdul Jalil Sulaiman has apologised after a video of him and his young son traversing a river using a dilapidated hanging “bridge” in Lipis, Pahang, made its rounds on the internet.

The clip, taken by his wife Siti Zahara Othman and posted on her personal Facebook page, had clocked more than 1.5 million views and almost 40,000 shares by Tuesday afternoon.

“My son is so enthusiastic to go to school but he has to brave this 'sophisticated' bridge.

“It has been a year but there have been no changes at all (to this) hanging bridge in (Kampung) Pamah Aur in Bukit Betong, Kuala Lipis,” said Siti Zahara in her post.

It garnered thousands of comments from netizens expressing concern for both the child’s safety and the lack of decent infrastructure.

Some also blamed Abdul Jalil for risking his son’s life, labelling him an irresponsible parent.

The uproar was soon doused by a surprising apology by Abdul Jalil, issued while seated beside Jelai assemblyperson Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail (left in photo) in another video.

The father thanked Wan Rosdy for explaining to him that the bridge is set to be repaired, and apologised over how his wife had caused the issue to go “viral”. Meanwhile, Wan Rosdy advised him to “prioritise safety” and explained that alternative routes were available.

Wan Rosdy’s special aide told Malaysiakini that the chance encounter between the former and the father had occurred at SK Batu Yon later that morning, where the Abdul Jalil's son attends kindergarten.

“(The father apologised because) he did not depict the real picture - that the Public Works Department (JKR) had already awarded the bridge repair (to a company),” said the aide.

Malaysiakini sighted an award letter from Lipis JKR stipulating that RM462,414 was allocated on Dec 21 last year to repair the Kampung Pamah Aur hanging bridge. Construction work was slated to begin on Jan 8 for ten weeks.

Alternative transport not used

The aide also clarified that Abdul Jalil, who works as a security guard at the same school, had not used the alternative transport provided to residents from his village.

“The village’s security and development committee (JKKK) had prepared boats and there is an alternative route, but it is a little far away,” he added.

Meanwhile, on Facebook, Siti Zahara followed suit by apologising and thanking Wan Rosdy for explaining the situation of the bridge to her husband.

'Bridge damaged a year ago'

Meanwhile, Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob weighed in by tweeting that the issue had been “settled,” since money was allocated to repair the bridge.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said his party “urged the government to repair the broken bridge,” while Bersatu youth questioned the why the Pahang state government had taken a year to repair the bridge.

“The bridge was damaged one year ago when the floods happened (in Pahang).

“This shows how the Pahang state government under Umno and BN is a government that is irresponsible,” claimed Bersatu Youth communications director Ashraf Mustaqim in a video.