12 œ
speak up!
I WAS in Manik Urai, Kelantan, over the
week. This sleepy agricultural commu-
nity is suddenly the focus of attention due
to the impending by-election following
the death of PAS assemblyman Ismail
Yaacob.
So far it is learnt that PAS is woo-
ing three locals – Ismail’s eldest son, a
hardware store owner and a fishmonger
– as their candidates while Umno may be
fielding a former one-term assemblyman
of the same state seat.
As far as the voters are concerned,
said a special branch officer, they would
rather a candidate was from the constitu-
ency irrespective of which party he came
from – as long as they are familiar with
him.
I am not going to delve into politics,
but some of the 12,293 registered voters
are definitely having it good, making hay
while the sun shines renting out their
homes for RM3,000 during the two-week
campaign period. This is money that
some of them don’t even see in a year!
New catering businesses are also
coming up, with “tenders” being submit-
ted to the local division offices of political
parties, to feed the hundreds of volun-
teers and campaign workers who will be
camping here for a fortnight.
Government departments are also
working overtime, getting themselves
prepared – not so much as to serve the
rakyat but to attend to the VIPs who will
be helicoptered down to woo voters.
One head of a government agency
even went to the extent of asking a lo-
cal plantation to foot half the bill for a
“programme with the people” hosted by
a minister.
This news brought chuckles to some
of the locals who claim that some of these
government officers never had the initia-
tive to visit them before but suddenly put
the kampung folk as their top priority.
Such is the case when the duties of
a government servant are blurred by
partisanship – and this happens on both
sides of the divide.
Instead of serving the taxpayers re-
gardless of one’s political affiliation, party
colours are used as a barometer to gauge
how much aid and service is extended to
the people. They go into overdrive during
elections and by-elections simply because
someone at the top wants to “ampu” his
boss; or feels that he has a responsibility
towards his paymaster.
Shouldn’t service be second nature
to a public servant? This is the sad state
of affairs we see come every polling
season.
The people finally come first – once
every five years or when a rep dies or
quits.
Shouldn’t the people come first all the
TELLING IT AS IT IS
Acting Editor-in-Chief: Chong Cheng Hai General Manager, Advertising and Marketing: Charles Peters
Consultant Editor: Zainon Ahmad Senior Manager, Production: Thomas Kang
Executive Editor: Lee Boon Siew Senior Manager, Distribution Channels: Joehari Abdul Jabbar
Deputy Editor: Patrick Choo (Production),
Editor: R. Nadeswaran (Special Reporting and Investiga-
tions)
People come first, always
time, as in the oft repeated his experience over 10 years.
mantra of the current admin- The authorities have ar-
istration? ticulated that they are doing
Until those charged with their best to haul up errant
implementing the govern- bus companies and drivers,
ment’s policies and vision but admit that it is an uphill
are on the same page as task doing so, where the
those who formulated these system permits errant bus
policies, they will not be do- drivers to continue operating
ing the people and especially on our roads.
their political masters any I for one laud the RTD and
favours by practising selec- Down2Earth ministry’s efforts. It would be
tive service. wrong to say that they are not
Let the people’s priorities by Terence Fernandez doing anything. The creation
be paramount all the time of the Road Safety Department
and not merely to serve as a conduit to is a reflection of the administration’s seri-
further one’s political advancement or ousness in combating road deaths.
career. But as I said, it also boils down to the
I received two emails over the last will of those charged with implement-
two days from Transport Ministry sec- ing these policies and measures. If a lax
retary-general Datuk Zakaria Bahari enforcement system is the trouble, then
and Road Transport Department (RTD) we have to reassess our priorities and go
director-general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan back to the drawing board to see where
(the latter’s response is published below) we have failed and speed up measures to
with regards to Tuesday’s column on a tackle the problem.
former express bus driver who related In a conversation with Datuk Suret
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
RTD takes serious view of safety
THE Road Transport Department reads with great interest This process is fair to the offenders
“Confessions of an express bus driver” (Down2Earth, May who have considerable time to settle their
25). summonses. Unfortunately, drivers whose
However, the issues highlighted must be taken with a livelihood depends on driving often continue
pinch of salt. Road crashes involving public transport have driving despite having multiple summonses.
declined by as much as 36%. While acknowledging the us- The annual renewal of the Public Service
age of drugs, of more concern is the blatant disregard for Vehicle Licence, which gives the drivers up to
the law and mismanagement by some bus companies. 12 months, and the high demand for drivers,
The article also highlighted that all bus drivers involved means many keep driving before the blacklist
in fatal accidents have outstanding summonses for speed- mechanism takes effect.
ing. It must be understood that whenever a bus is found This leads to corporate responsibility and
exceeding the speed limit, a notice is issued to the owner good governance on the part of bus operators.
demanding the particulars of the driver who committed Maintaining proper records of drivers must
the offence. Bus companies will then submit the driver’s be a priority when providing services to the
particulars to the authorities who then issue a summons. public.
Failure to settle the summons within a stipulated time will The RTD and police are ever willing to
require the case to be mentioned in court. furnish detailed information in our database
If the offender fails to appear in court, the driver is if operators reciprocate the idea of vetting
blacklisted as provided for under Section 17 of the Road drivers’ records. Bus operators can do this
Transport Act 1987. Any driver blacklisted is prevented when hiring or assigning a driver. Operators
from renewing his driving licence and road tax until he is must be aware of their drivers’ records, as
served a re-summons of the original offence to be settled letting a habitual offender to be in control of
immediately before the blacklist is uplifted. passengers’ lives is irresponsible.
It is incumbent the industry regulate itself
as enforcement alone is not enough. We be-
lieve one way the companies can do this is by
adopting the SHE (safety, health, environment)
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It is the government’s aim that by adopting
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However, it must be realised that these fac-
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renewal of permits (bus permits are extended
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We regret that authorities have been
labelled as lackadaisical in their efforts. The
RTD does not wish to be on the defensive but
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theSun | FRIDAY MAY 29 2009
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Singh, the Road Safety Department direc-
tor-general, a grim picture was painted
on the overlapping authorities which
contributed to road accidents.
Simple things like getting motorcy- Robert
clists to use motorcycle lanes become an Kuok
arduous task as there must be synergy
between the RTD, the police, the Public keeps
Works Department and the local authori- top spot
ties tasked with pruning trees to ensure pg 14
branches don’t smack a motorcyclist off
his machine.
In the meantime, we would do well to
dutifully report those who pose a danger
to others, and the authorities, namely the
police, the Commercial Vehicle Licens-
ing Board and the RTD must restore the
people’s faith that they are not wasting
their time performing their civic duty
by bringing to book those who pose a
danger to others.
Terence is deputy editor, special reports
and investigations. Feedback: terence@
thesundaily.com
for a second driver and maintaining a logbook
for trips exceeding 400km.
During festive seasons, urine samples of
drivers are tested every three days to ensure
that they are not driving under the influence
of drugs.
Another noteworthy enforcement effort
is the suspension for a month of commercial
vehicles which fail thrice in a row the test on
their brakes during the routine Puspakom
inspection. In short, these efforts are aimed
to prevent any mishaps resulting from the
condition of the bus and drivers.
The RTD has also begun to systematically
implement enforcement measures with re-
gards to public transport. As a result of the
Road Safety Strategic Plan 2006-2010, a
system based approach to enforcement will
be realised once the Automated Enforcement
System comes into law.
Under the AES system there will be con-
stant policing of accident-prone locations
(black spots). This image capture technology
(vehicle and driver) is fully automated from
camera to the courts with summons being
deemed served on the offenders.
The legislation regarding summonses is-
sued by AES is being amended to have the
blacklist mechanism automatically bar offend-
ers who fail to settle their summonses. This
system has been proven in over 45 countries
and will be the catalyst to change aggressive
driving behaviour of road users.
The RTD is also the agency implementing
the UNECE standards in automotive engineer-
ing on the construction and use of all motor
vehicles.
More specifically, the 13 standards have
been gazetted into the Road Transport Rules
(Construction and Use) with the aim to impose
international safety standards on the vehicles.
With regard to buses, this means better, stiffer
and more durable construction that improves
safety.
While all these actions are being imple-
mented, the industry’s involvement in steps
to improve safety standards must be proactive
and reciprocal.
It is critical that transport companies ac-
cept that safety is paramount and a requisite
for providing a service.
Safety as a premium must be reflected as a
return on investment for all industry players.
As quoted in the article, the statement that
rings true and clear is that as long as any com-
pany continues to operate with impunity then
there will be more trouble. This department
couldn’t agree more!
Datuk Solah Mat Hassan
Director General
Road Transport Department