Tourism, Transport ministries in talks over which should regulate tour vehicles
KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry is discussing with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry the possibility of allowing the latter to regulate tour vehicles, including buses.
Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said discussions were still at a preliminary stage and involved multiple ministries due to the complexities surrounding vehicle regulation.
"That matter is still at the discussion stage between ministries, as there are still many aspects that need to be looked into.
"Regulating tour buses, as you can imagine, involves a lot of procedures such as testing and so on, which require thorough discussion," he said briefly when met after attending Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd's Jelajah Ria 2.0 Programme.
Yesterday, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry had called for control over tourism-related vehicles such as buses to be returned to it, citing a loss of confidence in Malaysian road safety among various countries.
It had said in a statement that parties involved in tourism and student exchange programmes from Asean, the Middle East, China, Japan and South Korea had expressed their concerns to the ministry.
It had said there was a lack of confidence in Malaysia's tourism transport safety assurance mechanisms among these countries following the bus crash in Gerik which saw 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students killed and many others injured.
"We will continue to monitor those with prior offences who remain defiant. We don't sweep such matters under the carpet," said Hasbi.
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