The transport ministry is considering a proposal for establishing the Malaysian Transportation Safety Board (MTSB), a body that is to be tasked with investigating road accidents in the country, reported Bernama.
The proposal comes after recommendations were made by a special task force set up by the transport ministry to investigate the fatal crash involving members of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) in Teluk Intan, as well as the bus crash in Gerik that claimed the lives of 15 students.
Meanwhile, the transport ministry would also introduce several initiatives to elevate the status of the driving profession, including training programmes aimed at producing more competent and professional drivers, Loke said.
“We want to work together to train more professional drivers. The ministry has several planned actions to uplift the status of this profession… we want drivers to be respected and [their] social status to be elevated,” the transport minister said.
The ongoing issue of a shortage of bus and lorry drivers due to a lack of interest and low wages was also highlighted, and Loke said that the transport ministry is taking efforts to ensure that drivers are fairly compensated in line with their working hours, workload, and the risks faced by these drivers.
“However, we must not assume that just anyone, even those with criminal records or poor driving histories, can be hired as drivers. We are currently working on a database to identify individuals with past offences, especially those involving dangerous driving, so that they can be filtered out,” Loke said.
Plans for the formation of a similarly named board – of the same acronym – were mooted in 2015, where the ministry of transport looked to establish an overall authority at the time to have all modes of transport in the country under its purview.
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