PETALING JAYA: Tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing has urged the Genting Highlands management to consider installing additional speed reduction measures such as road bumps, following an accident involving two tour buses and a Perodua Aruz on Jalan Genting Highlands last month.
Tiong said he chaired a coordination meeting today to discuss the accident with the land public transport agency, road transport department (JPJ), police, Puspakom and other relevant agencies.
He said initial findings suggested the crash might have been caused by a brake system malfunction, but the cause of the crash had yet to be confirmed pending further technical investigations.
It was also revealed that a driver of one of the buses had an extensive record of traffic offences, raising concerns about enforcement and driver screening standards in the tourism transport sector.
Tiong said his ministry would hold further discussions with the management to better understand existing road safety management practices and identify measures that could be implemented immediately.
He said that while JPJ had previously proposed measures to reduce the speed of vehicles along the route, implementation was delayed because the road was privately owned and approval had yet to be obtained.
“Therefore, there is an urgent need to review and expedite the implementation of more technological monitoring measures to improve road safety management.
“Safety measures cannot be introduced only after accidents occur. We must take a preventive approach and minimise risks as much as possible,” he said in a statement.
In the May 30 crash, seven Nepali nationals were injured after their tour bus overturned in a crash involving another tour bus and a Perodua Aruz on Jalan Genting Highlands.
