Malaysia has reversed a plan to raise the highway speed limit to 120 kilometres per hour (74 miles per hour) because of a large number of fatal road accidents, a report said today.

"The government feels an increase will do no good to motorists because at the current 110 kph limit they are already speeding at 160 kph or 170 kph," S Samy Vellu, works minister was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

Many road mishaps

Samy Vellu said the speed limit would remain at 110 kph, despite regular calls from motorists to raise the limit, owing to the high number of road accidents during the Hari Raya festival last November.

In one the worst accidents in years, 14 people died after two buses collided as thousands of people returned to cities after celebrating the Muslim festival.

The government in March had agreed in principal to raising the speed limit. - AFP