PUTRAJAYA: There would be no overlap in terms of jurisdiction of power, once the Malaysian Transport Safety Board (MTSB) is established.
To be established by the middle of next year, the board would be able to investigate accidents in a more comprehensive, manner.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said at the moment, criminal aspects involving an accident comes under the jurisdiction
of the Police, whereas the technical aspect would be investigated by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).
“After the MTSB is established, MIROS’s role would be restructured so as to ensure that there would no overlap.
“For police, it would be more of a criminal aspect when an accident which takes place violates provisions involving the Road Transport Act 1987 and causes death.
“MTSB, on the other hand, looks at the cause of the accident, so that investigations will be done more comprehensively. This applies to all modes of transportation,” he added.
Loke was speaking to reporters after witnessing the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Road Transport Department (RTD), MIROS and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).
The establishment of the MTSB was suggested by the Recommendation Review Panel (RRP).
Loke said despite being a new establishment, MTSB would not require a huge allocation from the government.
“We will definitely restructure duties and MTSB will definitely increase the quality of our investigation,” he added.
On the MoU, Loke believes that the strategic partnership between UiTM, KTMB, MIROS and RTD would encourage research and academic sharing.
Meanwhile, UiTM vice chancellor Prof Madya Dr Mohd Fozi Ali said the partnership will improve education quality and add value to the transport industry.