MCA Youth: How many summonses issued to heavy vehicles in 2024?

Summary

• MCA Youth tells Transport Minister Anthony Loke to disclose the number of summonses issued in 2024 after the devastating Perak collision that killed nine.

• Its secretary-general Saw Yee Fung wants to know the main offences committed by heavy vehicle drivers.

MCA Youth called on the government to disclose the number of traffic summonses issued last year and the main offences committed by heavy vehicles.

Its secretary-general Saw Yee Fung called for transparency after a road collision in Perak yesterday killed nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) officers.

“We do not want a minister who is only a ‘champion’ in reforming the vehicle inspection system, while fatal accident cases continue to increase,” she said in a statement today, referring to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Saw said she was raising questions posed by Malaysians online as to whether the minister’s move in adding vehicle inspection centres had failed to reduce heavy vehicle collisions.

Yesterday, an FRU truck carrying 18 personnel from Unit 5 Sungai Senam collided with a rock-laden lorry in Teluk Intan, killing eight at the scene, while another succumbed to injuries at Teluk Intan Hospital.

The 45-year-old lorry driver involved in the accident was reportedly remanded for four days.

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the FRU truck was mechanically sound, while Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the other lorry’s steering system failed.

Rebuild people’s trust

Meanwhile, Saw urged the Transport Ministry to disclose the follow-up actions to be taken against drivers who repeat this particular offence.

“Will the company that owns the commercial vehicles be subject to action, or will it only be borne by the drivers?

“The people need to know to what extent enforcement is really being carried out seriously, and not just seasonal operations.

“This transparency is important to rebuild the people’s trust in the road safety system,” she asserted.

Saw also expressed concern that four other collisions involving heavy vehicles had occurred this year, resulting in damage to 35 vehicles and two deaths.

Besides that, she asked whether the health of drivers is checked before they are licensed to drive heavy vehicles.

“Therefore, MCA Youth suggests that this screening and monitoring process be carried out periodically and continuously, not only when applying for or renewing a license,” she said.

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