An opposition MP has urged the government to come up with definitive solutions to end fatal bus crashes such as the latest tragedy in Pagoh today.

In the early morning incident, an express bus travelling north plunged into a 20-metre ravine at Km137.3 of the North-South Expressway, killing 14 and injuring 16.

Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong expressing condolences and deepest sympathies for the families of the victims, said he had been calling for a definitive solution since the infamous Genting Highlands crash three years ago.

“I am extremely sad and shocked to hear the news of today's accident.

“Since long ago, I have raised the issue of road safety both in and outside Parliament.

“After the tragic accident involving a bus at Km3.6 of the Genting Highlands - Kuala Lumpur road on Aug 21, 2013, I have consistently urged the government, particularly the Transport Ministry, to set up an independent advisory panel to ensure such accidents do not recur,” said Liew in a statement today.

Liew said this involved issues of road safety features, licensing, proper vehicle inspection and driver welfare.

“I urge the ministry and the Public Transport Commission (Spad) to immediately formulate definitive solutions to ensure such things do not repeat,” he said.

However, said Liew, “political will of the highest order” is needed to ensure a permanent solution.

The Genting Highlands bus crash saw 37 passengers killed and several injured. The bus had plunged into a ravine after the bus lost control.

Similarly with the crash in Pagoh, an independent review of the crash cited excessive speed as one of the factors which led to the accident.

A witness to today’s incident said that he saw the bus “flying” before plunging into a ravine.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Consumers Association (Maconas) hit out at Spad for failing to implement the speed limiter on public transportation.

“Enough is enough. Do we still want to see more carnage and loss of life due to our failures of not implementing such safety measures,” said Maconas secretary-general Amarjit Singh Gill in a statement.

“If the speed limiter was installed in the bus, the issue of over-speeding would not have arisen as the bus would have been going at the designated speed allowed for the bus.”

Urging Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai to ensure that this would be done immediately, Amarjit said there was no need to “wait until 2020” to implement it.

“The rulings are already in place and they should have been implemented,” he added.

It was previously reported that new buses will be equipped with speed limiters come January.

Quoting Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Nadzri Siron last July, The Star reported that old buses, on the other hand, will be fixed with speed limiters in stages.

With the new system, drivers will not be able to exceed the speed limit as the device would be fixed to the engine.