Malaysia has some of the most dangerous roads in the world, but a ragtag group of vigilantes have been taking matters into their own hands.

Azlan Sani Zawawi, known as Lando, is the leader of The Brotherhood. Since 2007 he has been going out at night to fix potholes and repair the roads.

"People keep asking me to help them because they can't rely on the government anymore," he said.

There are 51 local Brotherhood teams and hundreds of members across Malaysia.

Lando, an avid motorbike enthusiast, started after several of his friends died in road accidents because of poor quality roads.

"I can't blame the contractors 100 per cent," he said.

"When some people in the government ask for a bribe from contractors, in order to sustain the profit margin they have to get a lower quality tar, bitumen or coal mix."

According to a 2014 study by the University of Michigan, for every 100,000 deaths in Malaysia, 30 are from road accidents. This is the highest rate in South-East Asia.

Lando, whose day job is as a film director and producer, pays for almost all of the cost of the repair jobs from his own pocket.

One night's operation costs him roughly $900 alone and he estimates he has spent almost $30,000 since 2007.

Lando is the Brotherhood's leader. ( ABC RN: Jarni Blakkarly )

"Every time I do my Brotherhood operations they have to do something after, so they [the government] open up tenders, they begin fixing the roads. It actually gets them moving," he said.

"I reckon I have moved hundreds of millions of ringgit in contracts because of my operations."

The Brotherhood publicise their late night road-repair jobs on social media, often drawing attention from the authorities.

The Mayor of Kuala Lumpur is one of several politicians who have threatened to sue. On three occasions, Lando received anonymous death threats.

"I don't care about politics. Everything is being politicised in Malaysia, even potholes," he said.

Working alongside Lando are around 20 Brotherhood members from across Kuala Lumpur.

The badly damaged road they are working on is right outside a local office of the Malaysian Public Works Department, in a poor suburb on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.

Lando said it had been like this for five years.

There are 51 Brotherhood teams spread across Malaysia. ( ABC RN: Jarni Blakkarly )

Muhammad Suffian Suhami, a paramedic, joined the Brotherhood after having witnessed dozens of road accidents resulting from poor quality roads.

"It's not our power to stop all the accidents from happening, it's only God's will, but we can try and prevent them," Suffian said.

Outside a crumbling concrete house just behind the road, a funeral ritual is held for an elderly woman who was hit by a car on this very road.

Her son, Amin, said the driver had been coming up the wrong side of the street, which is usually disused because of the poor condition.

"Perhaps the driver was careless, or on his phone, but he ran into my mother and his bumper came off," Amin said. "Her head was crushed when she fell on the road."

He said his family had trouble accepting her death because she died in an accident.

The aim of the Brotherhood is to put pressure on the Malaysian government. ( ABC RN: Jarni Blakkarly )

When they went to the local police station to report the incident he said the police officer was not responsive.

"He knew my mother was a local and he didn't really care. He said both parties were at fault," Amin said.

While the number of Brotherhood members continues to grow, Lando said he did not want to keep going forever.

The point, he said, was not for them to fix all the roads themselves, but to pressure the government into action.

"Everyone claps their hands and says: 'Good work, you're fixing the road,' but that's not the point," Lando said.

"I want people to know that this is not my job, but I'm doing this because I have to.

"I would much rather be with my Brothers riding motorcycles ... but how am I to say to the Brothers you've got to stop all this craziness when the problem is still there?"