By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, March 7 — Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung has called on the government to expedite efforts to enhance the public transportation system in the country amid soaring death toll from road accidents.
In a statement, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat lawmaker said the high fatalities coincide with the rising ownership of private vehicles each year, a direct result of a poor public transportation system.
He said statistics have proven that countries with higher public transportation usage have lower road fatality rates.
“To reduce the number of preventable deaths, I urge the government to expedite efforts to enhance the public transportation system throughout Malaysia, starting from the Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.
“Other than mega projects like the MRT3 and LRT in Penang and Johor Bahru, there should also be a focus on more achievable programmes and policies that support the public bus services, as well as the construction of bicycle lanes, pedestrian walkways, and first and last mile facilities,” he said today.
Lee lamented that these efforts appear to be sidelined at present, and urged the government to give the Transport Ministry the full mandate to manage the country’s public transportation system.
He added that the decision to release daily traffic accident statistics, as announced by Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook, is insufficient to address the core problem of millions of Malaysians risking their lives on the road each day due to a lack of safer alternatives.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Loke said the police have agreed to release daily updates on fatal accidents, similar to what the Health Ministry did during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is after the country recorded a staggering 6,443 fatalities from road accidents — equivalent to 18 deaths a day and one every 80 minutes — ranking fourth highest as a leading cause of death in the country.
Of these, about two-thirds, or 4,880 fatalities, involved motorcycle accidents.
To address this, Lee proposed the government to increase the number of dedicated motorcycle lanes, a policy adopted by countries with high numbers of two-wheeled vehicles like Japan, China and South Korea.
“Malaysia inherited a British system that does not rely on motorcycles. Why can't we adopt a Look East policy, keep an open mind, and create more dedicated motorcycle lanes so that everyone feels safer and more comfortable?” he said.
