Malaysia plans database to weed out errant bus drivers, revokes licence of firm involved in fatal Perak crash

CNA

2 days ago

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will build a database of bus drivers to weed out errant ones, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Wednesday (Jun 11) as he announced the authorities would revoke the permit and licence of the bus operator involved in Monday's Perak crash that killed 15 university students.
His comments came a day after another accident in Pahang involving a bus ferrying university students, though no injuries were reported.
The database of all bus drivers providing public transportation will enable individuals with 'previous records' to be blacklisted, Loke said at a media briefing.
This will help bus operators avoid hiring errant drivers who might have been sacked from another company for poor driving, Loke said.
'Because now in our system, we don't have a database that consolidates all these drivers; we only have licensing (information),' the minister said.
'So in this system, errant drivers that did not drive responsibly could have been fired from company A, they could go to company B."
Giving an update on the Perak crash, Loke said the bus company involved, Kenari Utara Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd, did not operate the bus that had crashed into the back of a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle.
It had instead leased the vehicle to a third party from Kelantan for RM500 (US$118) a month, which 'goes against the rules of vehicle permits'.
The global positioning system (GPS) of the bus was also not activated, resulting in GPS records not being able to be handed over for investigations, the minister said.
'These are two major conditions that (the company has) broken, and I have instructed (the Land Public Transport Commission) to revoke this company's permit immediately after the period of the show-cause letter ends,' he said, adding that the company holds a tourist bus permit.
'They have other buses, and we will revoke all their permits and operator's licence immediately without any avenue for appeal … this shows a carelessness that cannot be forgiven.'
As for the bus driver's claims that the vehicle's brakes were not working, Loke said the authorities would do a 'more detailed forensic investigation to determine if that is true or not'.
The privately chartered bus was carrying 42 students aged 21 to 23 from Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI).
It was travelling from Terengganu to the university's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, when the crash happened at around 1.10am.
Thirteen people died at the scene while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.
In the wake of the tragedy, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered a probe while Loke vowed to take 'stern action' to improve road safety, acknowledging criticism of the country's ageing road infrastructure and unsafe road conditions.
ANOTHER BUS CRASH INVOLVING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
A day after the deadly Perak crash, an express bus travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan with 28 passengers on board collided with a trailer in the early hours of Tuesday (Jun 10).
The bus passengers included 13 students from Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah (UMPSA). No injuries were reported, according to Maran police chief Wong Kim Wai, as quoted by news outlet Kosmo.
The bus had rammed into the trailer in front of it, said Wong, according to local media reports.
The accident happened at around 1am on Tuesday (Jun 10) at KM161.5 of the eastbound section of the East Coast Expressway.
Investigations are ongoing but preliminary findings show the crash resulted from the bus driver's carelessness and inability to control his vehicle, Wong said.
The bus passengers, who were travelling from the Southern Integrated Transport Terminal in Kuala Lumpur to the Kuantan Sentral Terminal, were transferred onto another bus and continued on their journey, Kosmo reported.
After arriving at the university's mosque in Kuantan, the 13 students were given 'food, emotional support, and temporary accommodation', said UMPSA vice-chancellor Professor Dr Yatimah Alias in a media statement.