Spad chief: Bus not overcrowded, nor blacklisted

The ill-fated bus that plunged into a ravine off Genting Highlands yesterday, killing 37 people, was not overcrowded nor blacklisted.

In a new development, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairperson Syed Hamid Syed Albar (right) said the bus was not overloaded according to licence regulations.

The bus reportedly carried 53 passengers when it crashed yesterday afternoon, with Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan claiming that it was overloaded.

"No. According to the licence, the bus capacity is 45 sitting and 20 standing. So it's 65. So we need to investigate before speculating further," Syed Hamid told a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital today, after visiting the crash survivors along with acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

Syed Hamid also said that none of the agencies - Road Transport Department (RTD), Spad and the police - had any record of the bus being blacklisted.

However checks byMalaysiakini showed that the bus has been blacklisted by the police, but is not on the Road Transport Department's (JPJ) blacklist.

At the time of writing, seven out of the 37 who died in the tragedy remain unidentified.

Six out of the 16 survivors are currently in critical but stable condition.

[More to follow]