By Ravinder Singh

Buses are still crashing and killing people more than three years after an independent advisory panel made a slew of recommendations aimed at improving road safety.

The panel was formed after the August 2013 Genting Highlands crash killed 37 people and injured 16 others.
It should be noted that the federal cabinet soon upgraded the independent panel, and it became the National Transportation Safety Board.

Recommendations in beautifully bound reports mean nothing if they do not translate into actions that bring about improvement.

The cabinet is the ultimate master of the many different agencies responsible for matters relevant to road safety.

Hence, if these agencies, for whatever reasons, have not been able to implement measures to prevent road deaths, the blame should fall on the cabinet. We have to question whether it has the political will to make travelling safe.

If officers responsible for taking appropriate action are not doing so, then the cabinet should show them the door. If the bus industry lobby is unwilling to change the status quo, then the cabinet must not give it face. The cabinet should insist that the lobbyists tell their clients to change or close shop.

If there is corruption in the industry or in the regulatory and enforcement agencies, it should be stamped out.

It all boils down to political will. As long as there is none, investigations of crashes followed by reports and recommendations are not going to change anything.

Will Barisan Nasional come to a consensus to exercise the political will to prevent more road deaths? Perhaps the Transport Minister can enlighten us.

Ravinder Singh is an FMT reader

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