Malaysian Transport Safety Board Proposal Back on Table – MOT

The Ministry of Transport is drafting a policy to establish the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB).

The Malaysian Ministry of Transport (MOT) is drafting a policy to establish the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB). As reported by NST, its minister Anthony Loke said the proposal was first raised during his first tenure as the MOT minister back in 2018 but had not progressed after he left office.

"For your information, it is indeed being considered at the ministry level. However, to set up a new body or agency, there are many lengthy processes.

"First, we have to prepare a Cabinet paper to obtain policy approval, which requires support from various parties," he said in response to a supplementary question during Ministers' Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat parliament sitting earlier today.

Jerantut MP YB Khairil Nizam Khirudin

Loke was replying to Jerantut MP Khairil Nizam Khirudin, who asked whether the government should have the MTSB as a permanent and professional investigative body. The minister continued that establishing the MTSB would involve creating a new statutory body, setting up a new agency, hiring staff, and addressing both financial and human resource implications.

"Once we get policy approval from the Cabinet, a working committee will be set up to examine the details before drafting the bill, which must be tabled and passed in Parliament to allow the MTSB to be established in accordance with the law," he said.

As mentioned earlier, the establishment of MTSB was first suggested by the Recommendation Review Panel (RRP) in 2018. Loke said in 2018 that the MTSB would be able to investigate accidents in a more comprehensive manner than the current procedures.

At present, the current procedure for accident investigation involves two bodies, with the police (PDRM) investigating the criminal aspects of an accident, while the technical aspects are handled by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).

Jelutong MP YB RSN Rayer

In addition to that, Loke also responded to a supplementary question by Jelutong MP RSN Rayer on whether the government would make it mandatory for all heavy vehicles, including factory buses, tour buses, and lorries, to have two qualified drivers.

The minister responded that the government acknowledged that the proposal was a positive step for safety but faced constraints due to a shortage of qualified drivers in the market.

"In certain categories of buses, such as tour buses and express buses, when they travel beyond a certain distance of more than 300 km, it is already mandatory to have two drivers.

"However, we face a practical problem in the market, as bus and lorry drivers are in short supply because not many are interested," the minister continued.

Source: NST