KUALA LUMPUR – The government has been urged to immediately amend laws under the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to tighten action against drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
PKR deputy secretary-general Sivamalar Genapathy said the amendments should be prioritised and tabled in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, stressing that the issue directly concerns public safety.
She said provisions under the Road Transport Act 1987, particularly Sections 44, 45A and 45B, must be comprehensively reviewed as current penalties have failed to deliver sufficient deterrence.
“Cases involving drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs continue to recur, clearly showing that existing measures are not enough to protect road users.
“The reality is that each time tragedy strikes, those who lose their lives are not the offenders, but innocent members of the public who had no choice in the matter,” she said in a statement today.
Sivamalar said such offences should no longer be viewed as mere accidents, but as gross negligence that carries a real risk of loss of life.
As such, she said amendments must include stricter mandatory jail sentences, significantly higher fines and immediate licence revocation for serious offences.
“There can be no compromise for individuals who knowingly endanger the lives of others,” she said.
At the same time, she criticised the Transport Ministry’s proposal to require offenders to compensate victims’ families, describing it as failing to address the root of the problem.
She noted that compensation mechanisms already exist through civil claims and insurance, adding that imposing such requirements without strengthening enforcement would only result in cosmetic changes to the law.
“Victims do not need sympathy after a tragedy occurs, they need protection before it happens,” she said.
She also called on the ministry to present clearer and more effective mechanisms in Parliament, including stronger integrated enforcement, wider-scale random alcohol and drug testing, and closer monitoring of repeat offenders.
Sivamalar added that the use of technology, such as alcohol interlock devices for repeat offenders, should also be considered before they are allowed to drive again.
“If we continue to delay, we are effectively allowing the same tragedies to repeat and that is unacceptable,” she said. -MalayaDailyToday
