Malaysia Transport Safety Board Bill to be tabled in Parliament in June

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook says the bill will give the proposed board a legal foundation.

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said preparatory work is ongoing to integrate agencies like Miros and AAIB under the proposed Malaysia Transport Safety Board. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The Malaysia Transport Safety Board (MTSB) Bill is expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in June, transport minister Loke Siew Fook said.

Loke said the Cabinet has agreed in principle to establish the MTSB, but a dedicated Act must first be drafted to provide the board with a legal foundation.

He said preparatory work is being finalised through discussions with relevant ministries and agencies, including efforts to coordinate the roles of existing bodies.

“The bill is being drafted. One of the main challenges is integrating or restructuring the roles of related agencies such as the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) and the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB),” he said in his winding-up speech during the debate on the royal address for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Loke said all the functions must be reintegrated in line with the government’s position and the public service department’s guidelines, while avoiding a large increase in new posts.

“This is to reduce the financial impact on the government. It is one of the challenges in setting up the new body,” he said.

In a separate development, Loke said the transport ministry has never rejected or closed its door to negotiations with any state government on infrastructure development projects, including port and supporting facilities.

He said claims that the federal government had sidelined or discriminated against certain states were unfounded, and arose from misunderstandings about the project approval process.

“Do not make accusations that we are not giving due consideration. If there is a genuine need, such as the construction of a breakwater and the consortium is unable to finance it, the matter should be raised so it can be discussed amicably,” he said. - FMT