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Two Malaysian Students Died in New Zealand Car Crash

Two Malaysian students died after being involved in a road accident around Lake Tekapo, New Zealand, yesterday. Three of their colleagues were injured in the same crash.

The Malaysian High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the tragedy.

“Two victims were reported to have died at the scene while the other three have been flown to Christchurch Hospital, South Islands, New Zealand for immediate treatment.

“The Malaysian High Commission in Wellington with the help of the Malaysian community in Christchurch, is extending appropriate consular assistance to the victims and family members to ensure that the welfare management of all victims runs smoothly.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian High Commission are ready to help if the next of kin decide to bring the body back to Malaysia.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also wishes to express its condolences to the family members of the victims involved in this incident,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said his party is waiting for the decision of the families of the two deceased victims to be brought back to Malaysia or otherwise.

“Our students in New Zealand who had accidents have all been taken care of, those who were injured and died have been taken to the hospital and their bodies will be taken care of.

“We are waiting for the family to come or even to ask for whatever help is needed. The High Commission of Malaysia is always ready to help,” he said.

There were also reports that there was another fatal accident involving 2 cars and a motorcycle on the same road, just 2 hours after the accident involving the Malaysian student. Altogether, these accidents caused 20 injuries and 3 deaths.

MACC will not Compromise with Smugglers

The Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) say they will not compromise with smugglers.

Citing the latest arrest of 34 Customs officers at KL International Airport (KLIA) Cargo suspected of being involved in the smuggling of vehicle spare pars and contraband items, Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said they will not just act against these corrupt officers but also ensure the lost revenue is returned to the country’s coffers.

The corrupt practices is suspected to have been going on since 2017, constituting more than RM2 billion of losses in tax revenue.

“What is also important is that we act against these people to stop leakages and losses, and to track the money so that it can be returned to the government,” he continued.

Azam warned that those in cahoots with corrupt civil servants would also be made to pay. “We will make them return the money, including through payment of taxes that they avoided paying before.”

The MACC had also arrested an additional 27 persons including business owners in connection with the case through a special operation codenamed Samba 2.0.

Azam said a taskforce comprising the MACC, the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) and Bank Negara was set up to investigate the case, adding that it was on the case for six months before the arrests were made.

“These officers were involved with inspection and prevention. The officers, who we believe have received bribes from companies and forwarding agents, would let the goods go without inspection or declaration.

“Even if they did carry out an inspection, it would not be thorough,” he added.

Thus far, the investigation has revealed that the Customs officers received RM4.7 million from a syndicate to facilitate the smuggling of vehicle spare parts, chewable tobacco, cigarettes, liquor, and health products.

231 bank accounts with more than RM17 million belonging to the suspects were also frozen by the MACC’s anti-money laundering division.

“We are not involving the Customs Department in this case to avoid any conflict of interest,” he added.

Toll-Free Remains for 2 Days During Raya

Malaysian motorists will enjoy two toll-free days on highways for 2 days during Hari Raya Aidilfitri. However, the government will not extend the it further.

The Deputy Works Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan explained that they will not extend it as the government has already allocated RM37.6 million to cover the exemption. The sum will be paid to the 33 highway concession companies.

“That is about RM19mil per day. This is the Cabinet’s decision and it’s final,” he said after inspecting preparations by PLUS Malaysia Bhd for Hari Raya Aidilfitri at the Persada PLUS Corporate Tower here yesterday.

On Thursday, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi announced that the government has approved a two-day toll-free period on April 8 and 9 for Class 1 private vehicle users on highways in conjunction with Hari Raya. The same measure was also done during the Chinese New Year in February this year.

Ahmad Maslan added that PLUS anticipates a daily traffic of approximately 2.1 million vehicles during the festive holiday. The particularly busy days are expected to be 5, 6, 9, 12, 13, and 14 April, compared with 1.82 million during regular peak days.

PLUS is set to deploy over 4,500 personnel on its highways to ensure swift response during the period.

“PLUS has 70 staff during daily peak hours at its traffic monitoring centre to monitor, gather and disseminate the latest traffic information and coordinate assistance to highway users.

“Motorists should plan their journey using the digital travel schedule available on the MyPLUS-TTA app,” said Ahmad Maslan.

Puspakom’s Monopoly Ends in September 2024

The government had announced earlier that Puspakom’s (Pusat Pemeriksaan Kenderaan Berkomputer/Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre) monopoly as the sole mandatory commercial vehicle inspection service provider will end in September 2024, when its concession expires on 31 August.

As such, parties (read: workshops) who are interested in offering the services are invited to send in their applications in the first quarter of 2025. These workshops must appoint employees who meet the qualification requirements, plus use computerised inspection equipment approved by the JPJ.

The Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke also stressed that the government will not provide assistance in setting up these facilities. “We won’t spend money building their system,” he said.

Loke also stated that the single service provider issues, besides the lengthy inspection wait time, had existed for many years.

“Large vehicles, lorries and buses are held up for hours. There have been complaints that some states only have one service centre.

However, the government iterated that they are not closing down Puspakom wholesale. Instead, they wish to see other inspection centres giving Puspakom for their money (no pun intended).

The current Cabinet had decided not to renew the concession in order to open up the sector to all qualified parties to carry out the inspections on behalf of the Road Transport Department (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan/JPJ). The Minister had said that such move “allows a more competitive service environment and facilitate all Malaysians.”

It had enjoyed a three-decade-long monopoly despite the existence of the anti-monopoly statutes, as the DRB-HICOM concern was set up in 1994 by the government during the time.

Penang LRT Project to Begin in Mid-Year

The Penang LRT (Light Rail Transit) project is expected to start in the middle of this year.

An analyst of Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd., Teh Kian Yeong, said that the main contractor, Gamuda Bhd. is already in final stage of discussions with the government to finalise the implementation model of the project involved.

“This is subject to government approval, while the Environment Department has published an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for this LRT segment on March 5.

“This federal government-funded project consists of land acquisition costs of approximately RM1.5 billion and construction costs of between RM7 billion and RM8 billion.”

This is ambitious projecte, connecting Tanjung Bungah in the north to Permatang Damar Laut in the south of the island. This route includes several important locations, including:

Penang Airport,
Bayan Lepas and Bayan Baru,
Ayer Itam,
Penang Hill,
Ferry Terminal,
KOMTAR (main station),
Pulau Tikus.

There is also a line that connects to the mainland of Peninsular Malaysia, with its main station at Penang Sentral, through a 7.2km long tunnel link under the seabed.

The route to the north reaches Kepala Batas, while the route to the south ends at Nibung Tebal. The route furthest to the east reaches Kulim South and Kulim North.

Among the important locations connected are:

Juru,
Tambun,
Batu Kawan,
Lunas (this writer’s late father’s hometown),
Bukit Mertajam.

The Penang LRT project has long been desired by the island’s residents due to worsening traffic congestion. It will also play an important role to developing the infrastructure for tourists to the state, apart from further developing the economy of several cities and towns along the way.

No Decorative Lights on Vehicles – Warns JPJ

The Road Transport Department (Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan/JPJ) has issued a warning to not decorate vehicles with decorative lights, especially during the festive season.

We as Malaysians are generally very creative and this spirit is brought to the point of decorating or customising our vehicles, regardless if they are cars, motorcycles, lorries, rickshaws, bicycles and so on. However, the authorities do not appreciate this creativity because they have a duty to ensure that each of our vehicles is safe not only for us, but also for all road users.

The Public Relations Officer of the Road Transport Department, Mohd Syahmi Abdul Latif explained that the act of decorating vehicles with decorative lights is wrong.

“Even if the intention is only to celebrate Ramadan, vehicle owners are warned to remove the decorative lights and return them to their original state or be fined.”

“In any case, the decision rests with the responsible officer. For this type of offence, the fine is usually between RM100 and RM200,” he said when contacted by Berita Harian.

He said this when commenting on a video uploaded to the Tik Tok application by a user who goes by the name @kaksuemeow, which shows her car fully decorated with decorative lights.

@kaksuemeow claimed she had encountered the police several times while driving in Bukit Bintang but was not fined.

“On the contrary, the police only showed thumbs up. I have already removed the decorative lights from the car but there is still a possibility that I will decorate them again. It took me about six hours to install all the lights and wrap them around my car,” she added.

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