Transport Ministry secretary-general Isham Ishak was reported to have said yesterday that the government is proposing stiffer penalties for Mat Rempit under the Road Transport Act 1987 in a bid to curb the menace by increasing the minimum and maximum fine to RM5,000 and RM10,000 respectively. Presently those caught taking part in illegal races can be fined up to RM300 only.
Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong should neither run nor hide but publicly state that stiffer penalties will be imposed on Mat Rempit or illegal racing by cars or motorcycles that is similar to those penalties for drunk driving. Clearly this announcement of stiffer penalties is made in response to my questioning the discrimination between drunk driving and Mat Rempits when penalties for drunk driving are double that of Mat Rempit, following the death of 5 illegal racers in Penang last month.
Instead of conceding such discrimination, Wee had criticised me and trumpeted his success for increasing the penalties of death caused by reckless or dangerous driving under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act 1987 to a fine of RM50,000 and/or a five to 10 year jail sentence. Wee claimed that this covers heavier penalties for Mat Rempits.
However, Wee could not explain why the heavier penalties imposed for drunk drivers that cause death are double that of the jail sentence imposed on Mat Rempits causing deaths. Lest Wee has forgotten, he had also imposed in 2020, harsher penalties under section 44 for causing death by those driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to a fine of between RM50,000 to RM100,000 and a minimum of 10 years /or a maximum of 15 years in jail for the first offence.
Increasing token penalties for Mat Rempit will have no deterrent effect to stop the danger posed by illegal racers to the safety of members of the public unless the penalties are equal to that imposed for drunk driving. There is no disagreement that parents who allow their children under 18 years old to take part in the races should also be punished. However the Ministry’s intention to get insurers to charge higher premiums for motorcyclists arrested for illegal racing may not have any impact since many of the Mat Rempits are not insured anyway.
Will Wee keep silent on penalties for Mat Rempit similar to drunk driving, the same way he has been keeping silent in Cabinet on national issues of importance that affect his community and Malaysians?