THE Transport Ministry should punish illegal motorbike racers the same way it punishes drunk drivers as both are equally dangerous to motorists, said Lim Guan Eng.

Quoting Shahrir Tamrin, a former board member of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety, Lim said that police data showed mat rempit have caused 12,000 road deaths since 2009.

“Clearly mat rempit are a menace to public safety and have endangered both the lives and livelihoods of innocent motorists. 

“Normally, such a large number of deaths would require immediate action from the transport minister. Unfortunately, Wee Ka Siong does not appear to have the political will to overcome the dangerous mat rempit that he does for drunk drivers,” said the Bagan MP in a statement today.

Lim asked if Wee was politicising the issues.

Lim said police data showed 212 road users were caught “driving under the influence” of alcohol and drugs in 2020, 39 in 2019, 191 (2018), 212 (2017), and 461 (2016). 

Figures from the World Health Organization and a global road safety report from December 2018 showed that less than 1% of traffic-related deaths in Malaysia were linked to alcohol, one of the rates in the world.

“Compare the 12,000 fatal accidents related to mat rempit with (the fatality rates of) drunk drivers. 

“Police data showed that since 2014, DUI has contributed to the lowest percentage of deaths among all road fatalities with 2.89% in 2014, 3.41% (2015), 3.31% (2016), 0.86% (2017), and 0.85% (2018). 

“Only 69 cases of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs on Malaysian roads were attributed to fatal crashes between 2011 and July 2021,” said Lim.

In 2020, the government raised the fines and jail terms for offenders found guilty of driving in an intoxicated state. 

Following amendments to the Road Transport Act, people could be jailed for 15 years for the first offence and 20 years for the subsequent offence. The fine was raised from RM20,000 to RM100,000 for the first offence and RM150,000 for the second offence. – July 24, 2022.