Puah said the death of a five-year-old boy in Johor on Wednesday was tragic and could have been avoided if such systems were mandatory in school vans and buses.

He pointed out that, in February 2024, a five-year-old girl also died after being left by her mother in a car for about four hours.

“I urge the government to hold more awareness campaigns, especially focusing on drivers of school buses and vans as well as parents, so they would be more prudent regarding the wellbeing of children in vehicles.

“I also suggest that the government mandate the installation of child presence detection systems in all school vehicles as a technology-based preventive measure,” the PKR MP said in a statement.

On Thursday, Iskandar Puteri police chief M Kumarasan said a 56-year-old man was detained to assist in the investigation into the death of the five-year-old boy who was left inside the vehicle for over four hours.

He added that the suspect has no prior criminal record and tested negative for drugs.

The kindergarten student is believed to have been accidentally left behind in the van after the driver finished dropping off other students at a kindergarten at around 7.30am.

The boy was found unconscious inside the school van at around 12pm.