IT has been observed that road accident statistics in Malaysia during festive seasons are seemingly like from a war zone with high numbers of fatalities being a depressing annual occurrence.
Contributing to this tragic state of affairs was a road collision involving a Road Transport Department (JPJ) patrol vehicle at KM 85.5 Kota Bharu-Machang-Jeli Road (Kampung Rahmat, Bukit Bunga) in which a 25-year-old motorist was killed on March 21.
Apparently, the victim has been identified as Mursyid Azmi, 25, son of Astro Awani senior editor Husna Yusop. Also in the car were siblings Madiha and Mumtaz, both 17 dan 19 respectively, who were injured and warded at the Jeli Hospital.
Refuting allegations stating the department’s vehicle were chasing a lorry that led to the accident as “untrue and baseless”, the official line is that the JPJ’s Toyota Fortuner was performing routine patrolling duty in conjunction with Ops Hari Raya Aidilfitri 2026 when the incident happened around 4.30pm.
Investigation reveal that the accident happened when the Perodua Myvi that was driven by Mursyid from the Ipoh to Rantau Panjang direction is believed to have crashed and entered the opposite right lane then hitting the right side of JPJ’s Toyota Fortuner.
The public has been urged to refrain from speculating and making unfounded allegations, especially on social media.
However, that plea has not been heeded judging from the many comments on the JPJ Negeri Kelantan DN Facebook platform (and various other social media sites of news portals) where the official statement was shared.
The post has generated 3.1K likes, 2.2K comments and 167 shares with plenty of commenters taking a cynical and sceptical view of the official stance that seems to absolve JPJ personnel of any blame.
The sense of outrage was palpable in the many comments flooding the platform.
One commenter requested that the dash cam video of the incident be made public on grounds that far too often official vehicles – be it the cops or JPJ – display scant regard for other road users when supposedly conducting official duties such as when escorting VIPs.
He went on to claim that he was once forced into the emergency lane by such antics leading his sleeping child to be flung off of the back seat.
Responding to images circulating online (which has since been denied by JPJ Kelantan and the cops as not depicting the true cause of the fatal accident), one commenter demanded justice for the perceived negligence on the part of the JPJ officer who is said to be overtaking on double lines.
One very concerned road user found it mind-boggling that the JPJ vehicle did not have a dash cam affixed when the department was equipped with all manner of state-of-the-art equipment such as drones and elite motorcycle units.
“Do not let the civil servants become licensed gangsters,” he implored.
The cries for clear, visual evidence in the form of dash cam recordings were deafening. One commenter even sarcastically opined that it would be conveniently claimed that the dash cam had malfunctioned one day prior to the incident.
Judging from the many comments, it can be safely surmised that public confidence in public institutions is low.
Unless the JPJ can produce concrete evidence (in the form of dash cam clip) instead of just proclaiming “internal investigations” had cleared its officers of any wrongdoing, speculation and conjecture will continue to make the rounds.
Until then, rightly or wrongly, there will be suspicion of the authorities sweeping this under the carpet. – Focus Malaysia
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