By Shadow Pine
On June 9, 2025, a tragic accident on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik, claimed the lives of at least 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students and injured dozens more when a chartered bus collided with a Perodua Alza MPV and overturned. The bus, carrying 42 students returning from Aidiladha holidays, crashed around 1 a.m., with 13 passengers pronounced dead at the scene and two others succumbing at Hospital Gerik, according to Astro Awani and Berita Harian.
On May 13, 2025, nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel from Unit 5 Ipoh died in Teluk Intan when their truck collided with a gravel-laden lorry on Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, as reported by Sinar Harian.
These incidents, part of a broader pattern of road accidents in Malaysia, reflect a human tendency toward lax safety attitudes and systemic failures in safety standards and enforcement. The inconsistent application of safety measures, such as seat belts, across civilian, police, and military transport fleets continues to cost lives, raising critical questions about how we protect our citizens and uniformed personnel in peacetime, and how this reflects our commitment to their safety in times of conflict.
The State of Safety Standards in Malaysia
Malaysia’s road transport sector is governed by the Road Transport Act 1987, which outlines requirements for vehicle safety, driver licensing, and roadworthiness.
Malaysia’s seatbelt laws, governed by the Road Transport Act 1987 and the Motor Vehicles (Safety Seat Belts) Rules, mandate seatbelt use across various vehicle types, including buses, with specific requirements depending on the vehicle’s purpose and registration date. Since 2018, express and tour buses must have seatbelts installed for all seats, with passengers required to wear them, a rule enforced from 2019 following high-profile accidents like the 2013 Genting Highlands crash. Non-compliance incurs fines up to 300 Malaysian Ringgit for first offenses, escalating to 2,000 Ringgit or one-year imprisonment for repeat violations.
Urban buses designed for standing passengers are exempt due to their low-speed, short-route nature, and school buses lack a universal seatbelt mandate, though newer models may include them. Vehicles registered before January 1, 1995, or without rear anchorage points, like some older buses, are also exempt, creating gaps in coverage.
Despite these regulations, enforcement and compliance remain inconsistent, particularly for bus passengers. A 2021 Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) study highlighted low seatbelt usage, with only about 11% of rear-seat passengers in vehicles buckling up, reflecting cultural resistance and lax enforcement outside urban centres.
However, cultural inclination to prioritize cost and convenience over safety often undermines these regulations. As seen above, a significant issue is the inconsistent mandate for seat belts, particularly in buses and uniformed personnel carriers. While seat belt use is mandatory in passenger cars, many buses, especially older or chartered ones are not required to have them under current regulations. No specific reports confirm whether the UPSI bus had seat belts, but Malaysia’s lack of a universal seat belt mandate for buses and lax enforcement suggest that such safety features may have been unused, potentially exacerbating the crash’s toll.
Uniformed transport fleets face similar challenges. The Teluk Intan FRU crash, which killed nine of 15 personnel, does not explicitly mention seat belt availability in reports, but the high fatality rate suggests that safety restraints were either absent or not used, a common issue in Malaysia’s police and military vehicles. Historical incidents, such as a 1990 Karak Highway crash that killed 11 FRU personnel, point to longstanding safety gaps in uniformed transport.
The Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) have faced criticism for similar oversights, with reports indicating that many military vehicles lack mandatory seat belts or crash-tested designs. This reflects a broader human tendency to deprioritize safety, leaving soldiers and police vulnerable to preventable deaths. Ensuring their safety in peacetime with basic measures like seat belts is a critical indicator of how we will protect them in wartime, where risks are far greater. Failure to do so erodes trust in our national defense and security framework.
Enforcement Gaps and Regulatory Challenges
Enforcement of safety regulations remains inconsistent and under-resourced. The Malaysian Road Transport Department (JPJ) and police conduct vehicle inspections, but these are often concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural routes, like the Gerik-Jeli road and Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, under-monitored. The UPSI bus, hired for a specific trip, raises questions about whether it underwent rigorous checks for roadworthiness, driver qualifications, or safety features, though no reports confirm these details. The Teluk Intan crash prompted Transport Minister Anthony Loke to form a special task force, which found that the lorry operator violated regulations, including an expired GPS and improper load permits, according to Sinar Harian. This highlights a lack of proactive oversight for commercial and uniformed vehicles.
Police and military transport face parallel enforcement issues. While the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and MAF maintain internal protocols, there is no publicly available evidence of standardized seat belt requirements or crash-tested vehicles in their fleets. The FRU truck in Teluk Intan, carrying 15 personnel, likely lacked modern safety features, contributing to the high death toll. Unlike countries like Singapore, where uniformed vehicles adhere to civilian safety standards, Malaysia’s absence of a unified seat belt mandate across civilian, commercial, and uniformed fleets creates a fragmented system, perpetuating a casual approach to safety.
A Pattern of Preventable Tragedies
The UPSI and Teluk Intan crashes are part of Malaysia’s ongoing road safety crisis. In May 2025, a collision between two MPVs in Gerik killed one and injured four, underscoring the dangers of rural roads, as reported by Berita Harian. In December 2023, a school student died in a two-MPV crash in Kuantan, with driver error and inadequate safety features cited as factors.
The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) reported over 6,000 road deaths in 2023, with buses and heavy vehicles disproportionately involved in fatal crashes. Rural roads, like the East-West Highway and Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, are particularly hazardous due to narrow lanes, sharp curves, and limited emergency response infrastructure. The Teluk Intan crash, which killed officers, echoes the 1990 Karak Highway tragedy, highlighting persistent safety failures.
This lax approach to safety extends to our uniformed personnel. The FRU personnel, returning from duty at the Chitrapournami festival, included fathers and husbands whose deaths left families in profound grief. Military personnel face similar risks, with reports of accidents involving MAF vehicles underscoring the need for better safety measures. These personnel, trained to serve in high-risk roles, should not lose their lives in peacetime due to preventable oversights. .
The UPSI and Teluk Intan tragedies have sparked widespread grief and calls for reform.
A Path Forward: Solutions and Recommendations
To address Malaysia’s road safety crisis and overcome lax safety attitudes, decisive action is needed:
1. Mandate Seat Belts Across All Vehicles: Amend the Road Transport Act to require seat belts in all buses, including chartered and older models, and extend this to police and military vehicles. Subsidized retrofitting programs can ensure compliance without burdening operators.
2. Strengthen Enforcement: Increase funding and personnel for JPJ, police, and MAF to conduct randomized inspections, especially on rural routes. Digital tracking systems for commercial and uniformed vehicles can monitor driver hours and vehicle conditions, addressing issues like the Teluk Intan lorry’s violations.
3. Upgrade Rural Road Infrastructure: Widen high-risk roads like the Gerik-Jeli stretch and Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, improve signage, and enhance lighting. Station emergency response units closer to accident-prone areas to improve survival rates.
4. Public Awareness Campaigns: Educate drivers, passengers, and personnel on seat belt use to shift cultural attitudes. Many Malaysians still view seat belts as optional only to be used when enforcement officers are seen, a mindset that must change through targeted campaigns.
5. Uniformed Transport Reforms: The Ministries of Defence and Home Affairs should align police and military vehicles with civilian safety standards, mandating seat belts and crash-tested designs. Regular safety audits can prevent future losses like those in Teluk Intan.
Conclusion
The UPSI and Teluk Intan crashes are stark reminders of Malaysia’s road safety crisis and the human tendency toward lax safety practices. From students to FRU personnel and soldiers, preventable accidents claim too many lives, exposing critical gaps in safety standards and enforcement. By mandating seat belts, strengthening oversight, and investing in infrastructure, Malaysia can save lives. Protecting our police and soldiers in peacetime with basic safety measures is not just a practical necessity, it’s a commitment to their safety in wartime, reflecting our values as a nation. As we mourn the UPSI students and FRU heroes, the question remains: will Malaysia act before more lives are lost?
Shadow Pine is an independent investigative journalist dedicated to uncovering hidden truths, especially in high-stakes and controversial matters. Operating discreetly to protect sources and maintain integrity, Shadow Pine focuses on stories that others might shy away from, aiming to bring clarity and accountability to the forefront for the well being of the nation.