Deputy Education Minister Mohd Puad Zarkashi has proposed that an emergency motion be tabled in parliament calling for heavy sentence on bus drivers who caused the death of passengers.

"I am all for the emergency motion to show that we are serious. The punishment meted out must be fair," he said commenting on the bus accident at Genting Sepah on Friday which killed seven people.

There were calls for the bus driver to be sentenced to death for not

possessing driving licence and the operator given life sentence for his part.

Puad said bus operators should not only focus on making profit but must also think of passenger safety.

"The bus not only had faulty brakes but the driver also did not have a licence. How could this escape the authorities?," he asked after closing an international language day function at SBP Integrasi Kubang Pasu near Bukit Kayu Hitam today.

On education, Puad said the ministry would encourage more students in residential schools to take up international languages to equip them for professional courses like medicine and engineering.

The five international languages introduced in 59 residential schools are Arabic, French, German, Japanese and Mandarin.

- Bernama