PUTRAJAYA: The Home and Defence Ministries are urged to take follow-up action on the improvements of official vehicles following the accident involving a Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) police truck in Teluk Intan, Perak.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry revealed that the main cause of the accident was the lorry being overloaded.
“I had presented the report to the Cabinet before it was made public, with our recommendations to the respective ministries on the further action needed to ensure safety.
“We can only offer suggestions, but the respective ministries are the ones who have to take the necessary actions.
“But this comes with its own challenges, which require some time before any implementations can be made,” he told reporters at the ministry’s November assembly and Deepavali celebration, here on Thursday ( Nov 6).
On Oct 31, the Transport Ministry said the lorry carrying gravel exceeded its permitted vehicle weight load by 70%, causing the vehicle to lose control and collide with an FRU truck.
These findings were based on the final report from the Road Transport Safety Investigation Special Task Force established to investigate the cause of the fatal accident.
Nine FRU personnel were killed, two seriously injured and seven others hurt slightly during the accident at Jalan Chikus-Sungai Lampam, Teluk Intan, on May 13.
The tragic incident that shook the nation occurred at about 8.50am, with the truck carrying 15 FRU personnel from Unit 5 Ipoh.
The ministry said the report stated that no mechanical failure was detected in the lorry’s braking or steering systems.
