Winding up the debate on the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2023 in the Dewan Rakyat, Loke explained that this can protect the officers from being victims of slander and defamation while increasing the agencies’ integrity in the eyes of the public.

“I like the proposal by the Jerantut MP (PN’s Khairul Nizam Khirudin) regarding the use of body cameras for enforcement agencies,” he said. “This is something that I agree with. We accept the proposal and I support the idea to implement body cameras on our enforcement officers.

“With the body cameras, the public can see our officers’ integrity. It is also to protect our personnel because we often face situations where they have been slandered, insulted and such.

“When there is evidence through these body cameras, it can protect our enforcement team, and this is for the benefit of both parties.”

Loke also reiterated his ministry’s commitment to improve food and item delivery services using motorcycles (p-hailing) to ensure the safety of the riders.

He said he will ensure that p-hailing companies will not place too much pressure on the riders in order to reduce the risk of breaking road safety laws that can lead to accidents.

“It is true that sometimes we see p-hailing riders and even drivers who ride or drive recklessly but we cannot generally blame all of them. Maybe there is a small number who break the law, but not all.

“Obviously, once we begin monitoring these riders, we (will) also begin looking at the aspect of p-hailing companies. At the ministry level, I’ve proposed a mechanism to prevent p-hailing companies from putting too much pressure on the delivery riders and drivers.

“I know that perhaps, sometimes, these companies will penalise the riders and drivers for late deliveries by deducting their commissions, forcing them to drive recklessly,” he added.