Deputy Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Abu Bakar Mohamad Diah had been desperately trying to help his Tangga Batu residents in Melaka to get an important road repaired.

He had highlighted the potholes on the road, Jalan Bukit Berlian, on his Facebook last week, asking the district council concerned to carry out repair works.

But his efforts apparently got scant attention.

Ths morning, on the way back from a funeral, he again noticed that the potholes had still not been repaired.

He then decided to sit on the dirty road and pray. The pictures of him sitting on the road and asking for divine help became viral on Facebook.

Hardly 12 hours later, the road repairs had been carried out.

The relieved Tangga Batu MP thanked the authorities for finally listening to his request to help his constituents.

He said the potholes had been there for the past month and he had been worried that some passerby would have an unfortunate accident while using this road.

As their MP, he would then be failing in his duty to his constituents, he said.

His posting at 11am had received more than 1,000 likes and was shared 180 times until late tonight. More than 200 people also commented on his good deed and dedication to his work.