Drink-driving caused 47 out of 55,000 road deaths in nine years: Consumer activist

Alcohol industry and community activists are unanimous in their criticism of drink-driving related deaths but have also panned Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa's call for the government to freeze the issuance of licenses for the sale of liquor pending new guidelines and laws. 

"Taking the wheel while drunk is not to be condoned. Drink-driving is irresponsible, dangerous and leads to deaths," said Deepak Gill, a spokesperson for the Alcohol Consumer Rights Group.

"However, it's responsible for something like 0.0008 percent of road deaths in Malaysia - certainly nothing if you compare it to reckless driving, speeding and other causes.

"Government statistics show that from 2011 to 2019, there were 47 drink-driving related road deaths in Malaysia. This is out of a total of 55,887 and there are many other more common causes, which the government also needs to look into," Gill told Malaysiakini. 

NOTE: The statistics were based on a querry on the Public Sector Open Data Portal (data.gov.my).

Annuar said today that following a number of highly publicised drink-driving accidents that caused fatalities, it was reasonable that the issuance of new licences for the sale of liquor be frozen until new guidelines and review of laws could be made.

"That's silly. That's not the solution. We need people to be aware and consciously deciding to use more e-hailing services because they are very common and affordable," said Gill.

Malaysians Against Rape, Assault and Snatch Theft (Marah) founder Dave Avran said that Annuar's call was a poorly thought out knee jerk reaction.

"It is akin to calling for a stop to new car production because car accidents can cause fatalities.

"If implemented this will only encourage the black market sale of liquor. The problem here is not the liquor per se but irresponsible drinkers," said Avran.

He called for aggressive nationwide campaigning and awareness on the dangers of drink-driving, higher penalties including making it a non-bailable offence, a lifetime driving ban for repeat offenders, caning and the introduction of a murder charge for causing death.

"There should be an outreach by Alcoholics Anonymous Malaysia and of course education at the school level will serve as a good start," he added.

"If you want to drink, be responsible. The best is to drink at home. Outside home, stop after a few glasses. Pre-plan your options if you're over the limit, think (about getting a) designated driver, calling family members, friends or use Grab to go home.

"The current roadblocks are good for now but a more holistic long term solution is needed," said Avran.

Veteran journalist R Nadeswaran, however, agreed with Annuar's suggestion.

"I agree with Annuar as there are already too many liquor licences issued. In SS3, Petaling Jaya alone, there are three liquor shops. They are not pubs but selling hard liquor and other areas are also the same," he said.

Nades called for consistency in law enforcement.

"The answer lies in consistent checks on motorists. Now, the police act in spurts. Besides, there should be no 'haggling' at roadblocks," said Nades, who feels that corrupt practices have contributed to the lax enforcement.

"In the UK, you can escape with a fine for the first offence but mandatory jail and suspension of licence for subsequent offences. Therefore, people are afraid to drive after beer.

"This has made them disciplined. I remember the guys leaving golf after finishing their half-pint of beer," he said.

He rejected the idea of an awareness campaign saying: "Don't waste money as suggested by (Transport Minister) Wee Ka Siong. It won't work and millions spent on it in the 1990s did not work."

This follows several fatal accidents allegedly involving drink-driving reported during the movement control order (MCO).

On May 3, police officer Safwan Muhammad Ismail was killed on the spot when a four-wheel-drive, driven by a man believed to be drunk, ran over him when he was manning a roadblock at the Kajang Selatan toll plaza of the Kajang-Seremban Highway (Lekas). 

In the incident, K Kalaichelvan, 44, pleaded not guilty to three charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, failing to stop at a roadblock, and driving without a valid licence. 

Today, fish wholesaler Teoh Kian Peng, 42, was charged in the Magistrate’s Court in Kuantan with killing Irwan Herman Kamarudin, whose car was allegedly rammed by Teoh who was driving against traffic flow in Jalan Pintasan, Kuantan on May 25.

Early this morning, a 44-year-old contract worker who was travelling home after sending food to his wife to be sold was killed when a car driven by a man believed to be drunk collided into him. Car accessory shop assistant Khor Yong Zhang, 21, was charged for drunk driving and causing death.

On May 29, de facto law minister Takiyuddin Hassan pledged to table amendments to the Road Transport Act in the next Dewan Rakyat session in July.

The proposed amendments would not only involve provisions relating to drunk driving that causes injury or death in Section 44 but also driving under the influence of alcohol under Section 45 of the law. - Mkini