The recent tragic accident in Gerik involving a Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) bus has reignited discussions around corporate accountability, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, urging the government to consider a new legal framework that would hold companies criminally liable for fatal negligence.
Azalina proposed that Malaysia should explore legislation similar to the United Kingdom’s Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. That law was introduced in response to deadly workplace and transport incidents where corporations escaped criminal responsibility despite significant safety failures. According to her, lives lost due to such negligence should prompt firm legal action, not merely regulatory fines or administrative warnings.
Her remarks came in the aftermath of the fatal bus crash along the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, where 15 UPSI students were killed and several others seriously injured. The collision, which also involved a Perodua Alza carrying a family of four, has been described as one of the worst road accidents in recent years. While the father of the family was discharged, his wife and children remain hospitalised.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke also called for strict enforcement and promised consequences once investigations are concluded. The Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) has already issued a show-cause letter to the bus operator, and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has initiated audits and safety inspections under existing road transport laws. Loke stressed that every life lost in this incident represents not just a family tragedy but a blow to the country’s future potential.
Azalina supported the transport minister’s stance and went a step further, recommending that current enforcement mechanisms be evaluated for effectiveness. She suggested that amendments to the Penal Code may be necessary to introduce stronger provisions addressing corporate negligence, particularly when it results in fatalities.
The minister highlighted that Malaysia must move toward a legal environment where companies cannot escape responsibility for life-threatening oversights. Without such accountability, public confidence in the transport sector and corporate governance will remain fragile.
The conversation now shifts to whether lawmakers will act swiftly to draft and implement reforms aimed at preventing future tragedies. For many, this latest incident serves as a painful reminder that safety standards must not be compromised—and that legal consequences must be commensurate with the cost of human lives lost.
Kamran (kfiverr21@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
