Continue road safety efforts, with or without me – Loke

Just-resigned Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke has urged the road transport department (JPJ) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to continue road safety efforts, particularly by acting firmly against offences that endanger road users, Bernama reports.

Regardless of any leadership changes at the transport ministry, the JPJ must maintain strict enforcement against overloaded vehicles, illegal racing and speeding, he said.

“The fight against overloaded vehicles is not the agenda of any individual or minister but a national mission that must continue because it concerns human safety and lives. The war against overloading, with or without me, must continue,” he said yesterday at the ministry’s monthly assembly – the last one he went to.

Loke said there was no reason for firm action not to be taken, as legal amendments relating to such offences have already been enacted, and enforcement powers have been conferred on JPJ officers.

He also said that he hoped MIROS would continue to help the ministry in strengthening road safety measures through its expertise and research, and that the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) bus crash and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) truck accident left a profound emotional impact on him.

“Road safety should not be viewed as an issue concerning a particular minister or as a political matter. It is about human lives,” he said, adding that he hoped road safety would remain a priority for the ministry under future leadership, regardless of who holds the portfolio.

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