Kuala lumpur: A memorandum to establish the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB), which will be tasked with investigating road accidents, is expected to be presented to the Cabinet soon. Transport Minister Anthony Loke indicated that once Cabinet approval is secured, the MTSB Bill will be tabled in Parliament.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) conducted engagement sessions with agencies and stakeholders from May to October this year to achieve the target of establishing the MTSB. The MOT also plans to hold engagement sessions with the governments of Sabah and Sarawak, as well as workshops on staffing proposals, the draft bill, and the necessary legal amendments. This was stated by Loke during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.
Loke was responding to a query from Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PN-Setiu) regarding the main constraints that have delayed the establishment of the MTSB. The proposal has been pending for nearly 11 years, despite the consistently high rate of road accidents and the need to enhance transport-sector safety. Until the MTSB is established, the MOT will continue using special accident investigation committees, such as those formed to investigate incidents involving Federal Reserve Unit personnel in Teluk Intan and the bus crash involving Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students in Gerik, Perak.
In response to a supplementary question from Shaharizukirnain about whether the MOT plans to make the MTSB an independent agency for conducting transport safety investigations and monitoring, similar to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Loke said the MTSB model has not yet been finalised. However, the ministry is considering various perspectives and making comparisons with international transport safety agencies, while also taking into account best practices adopted abroad.
Loke noted that although the investigative agency would have independence, the task force currently established is already free to conduct any investigation and make any recommendations. From the ministry’s perspective, once the report is completed, it will not be edited or amended and will be released publicly, as has been done previously.