Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

Dato’ Sri Zakaria BahariHaving police and JPJ officials at every corner is not the answer.We, as road users, must attain the basic civic characteristic of selfregulatingour behaviour and not breaking the law, especially when wethink we can get away with it.An express bus driver with multiple summonses drives some 60 passengers toKulim, Kedah. He breaks all speed limits, as if there is no tomorrow, and crashes,killing the weak and dependent. The driver survives. Who is at fault here?The driver, who concealed his summonses from his employer? The employer, whodid not regularly check on the status of its drivers? Or the lapsed enforcement?Careless enforcement kills! There areno two ways about it. Enforcement is adeterrent to those who intend to defy thelaw. It provides security to others who abideby it. The ultimate question in enforcementis – where and with whom does the buckstop?In the case of express buses, the buckstops with the employer. But take thecase of Mat Rempit for example. Speedingand dangerous stunts have become theirunwelcome trademark. Most do not evenhave a valid licence and others have expiredlicences. Menacing the streets, they havesimply rejected the law and decided toensure disturbance even during weekends.Causing trouble and being a nuisance, theyvictimise innocent road users.It is in such instancesthat if enforcementis not effective, publicsafety and security willbe compromised, andseverely, too. But withinthis enforcement, too, liesthe larger debate of socialand parental responsibilitytowards these youths whomenace our roads.It is in such instances that if enforcement isnot effective, public safety and security willbe compromised, and severely, too. But within this enforcement, too, lies the largerdebate of social and parental responsibility towards these youths who menaceour roads.Have we, as a responsible and progressive society, done all we can to eradicatethe core of this menace? On our part, the challenge is to ensure continuous andconsistent enforcement efforts, never relenting and being firm in implementation.The Road Transport Department (JPJ) enforces the road transport laws in Malaysia.Among others, the JPJ is responsible for the regulation of motor vehicles andtraffic on roads.37