EMPLOYERS HIRING DRIVERS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS SHOULD FACE STRICT PENALTIES - EXPERT

KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 (Bernama) -- Employers or companies that allow individuals with criminal records or repeated traffic offences to continue working as drivers must face heavy punishment, according to an expert.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Road Safety Research Centre head Assoc Prof Dr Law Teik Hua said strict action was necessary to encourage employers to conduct more thorough background screenings before hiring drivers, especially for heavy vehicles such as buses and lorries.

“Employers must not hire drivers without proper screening. If there is negligence and the driver is subsequently involved in a serious incident, the employer should be penalised with fines or, in extreme cases of negligence, imprisonment should also be considered.

“Essentially, employers should not take a lax attitude purely for profit while ignoring road user safety,” he told Bernama.

Earlier today, nine members of the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) were killed and two others seriously injured in a crash involving an FRU truck and another lorry carrying stones along Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, Teluk Intan, Perak.

Perak police chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin said the 45-year-old lorry driver who was arrested had six criminal records, including drug-related offences.

Law also questioned whether the lorry company involved had conducted routine vehicle inspections at the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) every six months.

He said preliminary investigations revealed that the lorry had suffered a malfunction that caused the steering system to fail, a problem unlikely to occur if the vehicle had undergone periodic inspections.

"The issue of enforcement has long been raised, but firm action is only seen after accidents or serious incidents occur, and this raises the question of whether a preventive approach alone is insufficient. Instead, heavy penalties such as a minimum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment of more than 10 years should be imposed to ensure employers are deterred and do not take things lightly," he said.

Meanwhile, Alliance for a Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye suggested that the government conduct an audit of security force vehicles to ensure they were equipped with safety features to prevent similar accidents from recurring.

He said that although FRU trucks were used for various operations, many lacked basic safety features such as seat belts or passenger protection systems.

“When accidents occur, personnel seated at the back of the trucks are easily thrown out or collide with one another, leading to serious injuries or fatalities. Unfortunately, they have no protection whatsoever.

“It is time for the government and security authorities to take this issue seriously and review the specifications of heavy operational vehicles to ensure the safety of all personnel in the field,” Lee said.

Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) president Ahmad Fakhrul Anuar Ismail, in a statement, urged the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to re-evaluate the suitability of using FRU trucks to transport personnel over long distances.

“The aspects of engineering, comfort, safety and ergonomic needs must be reconsidered so as not to compromise the safety of security personnel while on duty,” he said.

He added that it was also time to make the appointment of safety and health officers mandatory for all transport companies, including those in the logistics and public transport sectors.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) senior vice-chairman Datuk Seri Ayub Yaakob called for a thorough and detailed investigation, and said that if there was any element of negligence or breach of law, those responsible should be brought to justice without compromise.

-- BERNAMA