KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for A Safe Community has called out the government to intensify the overall road safety measures to reduce the number of road crashes and high fatality rate via effective communication.
In response to the announcement made by Transport Minister Anthony Loke that road safety campaign launches would no longer be conducted for every festive season from this year, the NGO's chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said it implied that campaigns and communications to save lives on the road over the years had been a failure.
"It was not something new that road safety events during festive seasons in the past were merely an academic and repeated approach with no target reduction percentage for road fatalities and road crashes nationwide set by the ministry and enforcement agencies.
"It has been the same mundane approach every year and the government was expecting different results.
"(And) it is obvious that in the last 10 years, the ministry was not able to ensure a good outcome of a road safety campaign," he said in a statement, today.
Lee added that the increase of seven per cent in road deaths last year when compared to the 2022 statistics was also a clear indication that the commitment, focus and willingness of the government to reduce and curb the road carnage had failed.
Instead of intensifying and escalating communications as well as reminding road users to be responsible, Lee also said that the endeavours by the government have been subdued and inconsistent.
"6,443 road deaths were recorded in 2023, the highest in the last five years, higher than the 2018 road death statistics of 6,284.
"(And) it is also noted that since the dissolution of the Road Safety Department which was absorbed into the Road Transport Department (RTD) four years ago, the advocacy had been further diminished.
"At the current rate, it looks like Malaysia won't reach the '50 by 30' goal, a target set by the United Nations and adopted by the Transport Ministry to reduce road traffic fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030 and beyond."
Following this, Lee called out for a sound political will to be established by the government on overall road safety measures throughout the year and raise awareness to the masses via enforcement, education and engagement with stakeholders.
He also urged the Transport Ministry to rethink the communications steps and campaign messages on road safety advocacy and awareness through RTD alongside the police.
"At the same time, the ministry must also conduct consistent and serious communication throughout the year with relevant stakeholders as outlined in the National Road Safety Plan 2022-2030.
"They must also be proactive and refresh their communication effort all year long to the masses by utilising the mainstream and alternative media including social media.
"Hence, it is our fervent hope that the government would recapture its commitment and focus on saving lives on the road with a clear communication plan throughout the year," he said, adding that RTD alongside the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) must work together with the police to provide road crash and fatality data on a monthly or quarterly basis to the media instead of just yearly data.
