LAST year, Malaysia had the third highest fatality rate from road accidents in the Asian region, according to the Global Status Report on Road Safety by the World Health Organisation and the World Bank. I wonder what the numbers will be for the 2019 report. 

Some 20.4% of Malaysians aged between 15 and 40 died from road accidents in 2018, making it the fourth highest killer in the country. These numbers are only predicted to rise, with estimates by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) anticipating the death toll on the roads next year to exceed 10,000 people. 

These depressing numbers are attributed to many factors – an absence of safety guidelines and standards, and the corresponding lack of enforcement; the urban-suburban nature of Malaysia’s urban centres, and the pot hole-riddled federal roads. And now, we are looking to legalise bike e-hailing. 

Let’s face it. Malaysia is facing a public health issue and it is only going to get worse. 

The implementation of e-bike hailing in Malaysia will soon dawn on Malaysia’s roads. I have not seen a single guideline released by the authorities that had very enthusiastically pushed for the approval of this initiative without first putting in place any inkling of a structure for safety guidelines. This is impulsive behaviour, where Malaysians’ safety is taken for granted. 

Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook claimed that “bike-hailing will be subject to similar regulations as laid out for e-hailing”. How long did that regulation take to be implemented? It is estimated that the number of registered motorcycles is half of Malaysia’s population. Just by sheer volume, how equipped is the government to regulate the bike-hailing industry in less than a month? 

The government needs help. There is no way they can carry out this pilot run without the support from other stakeholders involved. And there are so many ways the private sector and academia can help. Service providers can share their set of safety standards and guidelines for reference, insurers can provide data on the demographics of motorcycle accidents, and academia can chime in on best practices from other countries. 

All stakeholders involved in this initiative need to place this on their agenda. A holistic approach to curb the risks of bike-hailing is urgently needed. 

I implore the authorities to make sure that strong safety guidelines and safe driving are in place and adhered to first before allowing bike-hailing. It is not worth it to make rash decisions to encourage competitiveness. They cannot even make up their minds. Has it changed from a channel to create more jobs for the rempits to a last-mile connectivity solution? It is not business as usual. Government agencies like the Road Safety Department, Miros and the Transport Ministry cannot do this alone. They need to put in place a tripartite alliance and rally support from public, private stakeholders and involve the people by seeking their opinions. After all, the whole initiative is for the people, right? – December 3, 2019.

* Gene Ong reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.