FRU crash: Road safety experts question need for yet another task force

New Straits Times

16-05-2025

KUALA LUMPUR: Road safety experts have questioned the need for yet another task force to look into the fatal accident involving a lorry and a police truck that killed nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) members.
Former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairmen Datuk Suret Singh and Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, along with Universiti Putra Malaysia Road Safety Research Centre head Associate Professor Dr Law Teik Hua, said task forces had already been formed for fatal crashes in the past.
These include the 2013 Genting Highlands bus crash, which killed 37 people, and the more recent Ayer Keroh collision involving five vehicles, which left seven dead and 33 injured.
Even the findings and recommendations of those earlier task forces remained unknown to many, they said.
"Every time there is a major accident, you will see knee-jerk reactions. How many of the recommendations from experts have been implemented? When are we going to get serious?" asked Suret, a member of the Malaysian Road Safety Council.
He said the fundamental issue was the lack of fear of the law among road users and transport companies.
As a former Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) safety advisor, Suret said during his time there, the Industrial Code of Safety Practice was introduced as part of licensing conditions backed by strict enforcement and company suspensions.
"At the time, we saw that heavy vehicles were 'behaving' and there was a drop in accidents," he told the New Straits Times.
"But somewhere down the road, enforcement became lax and the nonsense started again."
Suret said it was encouraging that Transport Minister Anthony Loke had ordered safety audits into heavy vehicles involved in accidents.
"We hope that the authorities will publish the audit findings and disclose which companies have been suspended," he said.
Dr Law said following the Genting crash, an independent advisory panel proposed 51 measures but only 22 were reportedly implemented.
"Despite these steps, underlying issues such as corruption, outdated enforcement practices and a lack of proactive oversight continue to undermine the effectiveness of such initiatives," he said.
While task forces can identify shortcomings and initiate reforms, Law said the persistence of fatal road accidents points to a deeper, systemic failure.
"This includes revamping vehicle inspection protocols, upgrading enforcement mechanisms, and tackling corruption within the relevant agencies.
"Unless these foundational issues are addressed, we are likely to see a recurrence of tragic accidents," he said.
Meanwhile, Lee called on the government to revisit the findings of previous reports by independent panels and task forces formed after major crashes.
Lee, who chaired an independent advisory panel on the Genting crash, said there had been little to no follow-up.
For the record, the panel he led was separate from the SPAD-led task force set up immediately after the Genting incident.
His panel called for, among others, a full audit of the vehicle approval, licensing and inspection processes; speed limiters for heavy vehicles; compulsory Safety Star Grading by Miros; a national driver profiling system and the formation of an independent National Transportation Safety Board.
Subsequently, then-transport minister Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai announced the formation of the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB), tasked with independent investigations and oversight.
He had said the remaining recommendations were being pursued by relevant agencies, with implementation statuses to be published online.
"We raised key points back then, and those recommendations remain relevant," Lee said.