Dec 17, 2010: Four prison officers killed after a Prisons Department bus plunged into a ravine along the hilly and winding Tambunan-Kota Kinabalu trunk road.
Oct 29, 2010: Seven passengers, aged between 13 and 28, killed after their bus skidded and overturnMed at KM38 Genting Sempah, while enroute to Kuala Lumpur. It was later revealed the driver of the bus had no valid driving licence.
Oct 10, 2010: Thirteen killed in bus crash along KM223 of the North-South Expressway (NSE), near the Simpang Ampat toll plaza.
Dec 25, 2009: Ten killed after a double-decker express bus skidded and hit a road divider at KM272.8 of the NSE, after the Ipoh Selatan toll plaza (northbound).
Dec 7, 2008: Ten dead after an express bus skided and overturned at KM146.5 of the NSE, near Pagoh, Johor.
Aug 13, 2007: One of the worst road crashes in Malaysian history claims 22 lives. The bus they victims were in crashed at KM229 of the NSE, near the Bukit Gantang rest area.
March 9, 2007: Six killed after an express bus plunged into a ravine at KM254, NSE, near the Sg Perak rest and recreation area.
July 30, 2006: Eleven pilgrims to the annual St Anne's Feast in Penang were killed when their chartered bus overturned at KM160.8 of the NSE, near the Jawi interchange at Nibong Tebal.
Nov 23, 2003: Fourteen killed when an express bus collides with another bus at KM63, Jalan Lipis-Merapoh near the Pahang-Kelantan border.
The latest and worst accident of the decade which tragically took 27 precious lives happened at the Simpang Pulai-Cameron Highlands highway yesterday Dec 20, 2010:
These recent victims on our highways are fathers, mothers, daughters and sons who could well one day be our own. Malang Tidak Berbau!
Malaysia has one of the highest road accident fatalities, 26 deaths /100,000 population in the world, Ref: here(2003 figures) and here(1999 figures). Have the statistics improved? Maybe not.
In fact with the increasing fuel prices, buses will be the preferred mode of mass transportation now and the future, if nothing is done by way of holistic legislation and enforcement, the fatalities caused by buses which can turn into weapons of mass destruction brought on by tired, fatigued and negligent bus drivers and irresponsible bus owners who never bother about vehicle maintenance or passenger safety will only get higher.
I humbly request to the powers that be, our Legislators the Law Makers in Parlimen both of the ruling coalition and those in opposition to forget wasteful issues like Anwar's suspension and let us see the issue at hand, the mass deaths on the highways caused by bus accidents is a serious problem that would not go away. I am asking the MPs from both sides of the political divide to debate a motion on the bus accidents and our very high road accident facilities per 100,000 population next Parliament session.
Please also read blogger Hantu Laut's take on the serious issue here.
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