I strongly condemn Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai for their bullying threats against Dego riders, implying the eventual seizure of their motorbikes unless they stop operating. Liow is heartless to go after these bike owners, most of who are from the lower income category. The seizure of their bikes will not only affect their ability to earn income under the Dego platform, but will severely impact their ability to get a job elsewhere.
At a time when the cabinet has yet to decide the legality of Dego, as stated by Minister Nancy Shukri, Liow should instead be focusing on improving motorcyclist safety as a whole, instead of going after 6000 Dego drivers and seizing their motorcycles.
A search on statements issued by Liow and his ministry in recent months will show that there has been no announcements, campaigns, or efforts to improve motorcyclist safety, other than his deep desire to end Dego.
His deputy has even stated in Parliament that an estimated 1.2million people are riding motorcycles without a riding license1.
In my previous statement, I have highlighted that there are other bigger factors to motorcycle safety that Liow must focus on.
35% of motorcycle fatal accidents2 is related to the rider not wearing a helmet. Instead of hunting down Dego riders, JPJ is better of addressing the high amount of motorcyclist not wearing helmets if its honest aim is to reduce accidents and fatalities. It is not only rural riders that don’t use helmets, this problem is also prevalent in urban areas.
The second fact that the minister must remember is one pointed out by the statistics from MIROS (Malaysia Institute for Road Safety Research), which shows that 66% of motorcycle accidents3 happen in the rural areas, despite the fact that majority of Malaysia live in urban areas. Once again, the minister is in not placing the right effort in the noble goal to reduce motorcyclist accidents and fatalities.
The 3rd fact, also obtained from MIROS is that less than 20% of motorcyclist4 casualties are pillion (passengers), with over 80% of the casualties are the riders themselves. This also goes to show that Dego rides are not more at (in fact at lesser) risk from the average motorcycle ride.
It’s time the minister stops being a hypocrite. The minister should be concerned about motorcyclist safety. And he should go after the real reasons, and apply real effort to achieve this.
1. http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-news/1-2-mln-motorcyclists-riding-without-licence-122098
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0386111212000076
3. https://www.miros.gov.my/1/page.php?id=17 (Facesheet 2)
4. https://www.miros.gov.my/1/page.php?id=17 (Facesheet 1)