The Malaysian academic movement Gerak extends its deepest condolences to the families of the 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students who were killed in a tragic accident on 9 June.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families, as well as with the entire UPSI community during this extremely sorrowful time.
Gerak urges the government and all relevant agencies responsible for vehicle and land transport safety, to take immediate and comprehensive action to prevent further tragedy.
Highway deaths have been increasing every year, due to a horrific combination of human error, bad road conditions, and poor enforcement of road regulations due to corruption, such as ‘enforcement officers on the take’.
Most recent statistics reveal that in Malaysia, every 1 hour 56 minutes, a life is lost in a road accident. In Malaysia, a road accident occurs every 50 seconds.
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Among Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia is ranked second highest in the road fatality index. The nation recorded 23.7 road deaths per 100,000 people, trailing Thailand.
In December 2024, the cabinet committee on road safety and traffic congestion had approved an allocation of RM463m to improve public transport services.
Gerak suggests that a good part of this allocation be channelled towards road safety initiatives. Policymakers must understand that the millions of ringgit already allocated are not meant merely to deliberate the imposition of congestion charges or the upgrading of the quality of public transport.
Gerak believes it is imperative that the government, including the Malaysian Institute for Road Safety Research (Miros) and other relevant agencies use existing funding to solve the rising crisis in deaths from road accidents.
A rise in human carelessness, road rage, a lack of enforcement of rules and regulations, and poor road conditions are serious contributory factors.
The absence of strict vehicle inspection enforcement, drug testing among commercial drivers of lorries, buses and other heavy vehicles, as well as penalties for speed violators have also contributed to the rise in road deaths in the country.
Gerak insists that a thorough transparent investigation into the bus tragedy that killed 15 UPSI students be launched as soon as possible. The investigation must address the dangerous highway and road safety conditions, the country’s appalling vehicle congestion challenges, as well as the lackadaisical enforcement of road safety rules and regulations by traffic police and other road safety officers responsible.
Furthermore, key accounts of UPSI students who survived the recent accident have claimed the bus driver was reckless and speeding. In addition, the slippery and dark road conditions on that particular stretch of road contributed to the severity of the crash and the tragic number of deaths.
Gerak insists that the government adopt a sense of urgency to improve the level of road safety throughout the country.
For example, reintroduce the speed limit black boxes (speed limiters) to electronically keep heavy vehicles such as lorries and buses below the 90km/h mark. Make sure there is strict enforcement of these rules, and that speed violators are summoned immediately.
Second, in order to effectively impose road safety rules and regulations, law enforcement officers on duty must not be corrupt and lax in their job. Corrupt officers must be punished, either fined heftily or jailed for accepting bribes.
Gerak feels ‘officers on the take’ is a serious contributor to the horrific rise in road accidents in Malaysia. This must stop. Unless there is integrity among law enforcers, the number of road violators among the public will not be reduced, and more road deaths will ensue.
Gerak believes that fatal and serious injury accidents are not simply a matter of fate but often stem from systemic failures that require holistic solutions. One such systemic failure is corruption. The government can no longer afford to be reactive. The time has come for us to shift to a proactive approach that has been proven effective on a global scale.
For comparison, developed nations like Australia have succeeded in significantly reducing their road fatality rates through its “Safe System” approach.
The philosophy behind this approach is to build a road system designed to protect users, even when human error occurs. Its core principle is that the responsibility for safety does not lie with road users alone but is shared among all parties, including road planners, engineers, vehicle manufacturers and enforcement authorities.
This Safe System approach is founded on four main pillars:
- Safe roads and roadsides: Building roads that can ‘forgive’ driver errors, such as by installing road barriers and designing safer intersections
- Safe Speeds: Ensuring speed limits are appropriate for the road conditions, environment, and types of road users. As mentioned earlier, the speed limiters policy that Malaysia imposed more than 20 years ago for commercial lorries and other heavy vehicles should be reintroduced.
- Safe vehicles: Encouraging the use of vehicles with modern safety features and ensuring commercial vehicles are maintained to the highest standards
- Safe road users: Continual education and enforcement to cultivate prudent driving behaviour
Therefore, Gerak calls for a concerted effort to be mobilised immediately between government agencies, the private sector and civil society to formulate and implement a national road safety action plan based on the principles of this Safe System.
The tragedy that has befallen the UPSI students must be the turning point for fundamental change to ensure our roads are safe for everyone.
Gerak feels that speeding, poor enforcement of existing rules and regulations by the authorities, and corruption are key culprits in the rise in road deaths in the country. – Gerak
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Malaysia is not short of laws but may lack the will to enforce the laws as may be evidenced by the millions of traffic summons issued annually by the various enforcement and local authorities and the Perihatin culture providing Discounts (one just announced again) and perception that imposed penalties if and when imposed may be non deterrent and some offenders continue to be on the road even with multiple outstanding compound notices which come to light only when lives are lost in traffic accidents as in this case. JUST FOLLOW SINGAPORE EXAMPLE OF ZERO TOLERANCE AND PROMPT ENFORCEMENT AND IMPOSITION OF DETERRENT PENALTIES instead of REWARDS via DISCOUNTS. Another perception may be lack of responsibility by assigned officers
Bless all