LETTER | The recent case of an overturned express bus on the Karak Highway route that took lives and injured passengers calls for urgent, intelligent reform.

As we keep chasing tourism ringgit, we need to realise that being known the world over as having good road safety records will attract tourists.

Many tourists coming through the KLIA gateway prefer to explore the length and breadth of the country by road.

Every state prides itself on having unique and attractive destinations. Truly, given our multicultural history, we do have amazing offers to please foreign tourists who want to explore the Asian experience.

In fact, every state is spending much to promote its great food, unforgettable adventures, places of worship and everything that nature has bestowed on our nation in resplendence.

However, when we are getting ever more notorious on the roadways where even tour or express busses are not safe to travel in, how on earth will we ever capitalise on the Asian tourism wave?

It is time to decide if we ever want to make our roads safe for good measure or just keep reporting on the now uncountable road accidents and endlessly announcing road safety operations, on and on.

We need the government to rein in all ministries and private enterprise road operators.

We need a concerted, national thrust to implant a game-changer policy that can force discipline and lawkeeping on the roadways.

Fines, compounds, ops “di sana sini” (everywhere) etc have all failed to turn around the road safety equation. That is the harsh truth.

Are we ready for an intelligent approach that can make our roadways reliably and predictably safer?

Or shall we continue groaning and growling over the worsening road behaviours, widespread and unsafe road conditions as well as the vehicles compromising on proper maintenance?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.