ENOUGH IS enough.
Public anger from the viral video of the mother elephant grieving for her dead calf which was knocked down by a container lorry on the Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway (JRTB) over the weekend has yet to subside when nine Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) policemen perished in another fatal crash with a stone-laden lorry in Teluk Intan.
This has led to the cyberspace being swamped by calls for Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook to give up his ‘coveted’ portfolio.
“If @anthonyloke feels that he’s unable to solve this problem of killer lorries and trucks, it would be best that he steps down with honour,” pro-Madani Datuk Jahat Hensem (@datukhensem) reacted to a netizen update on the 8.50am accident along Jalan Chikus–Sungai Lampam yesterday (May 13).
Kalau @anthonyloke rasa tak mampu nak selesaikan masalah lori and truck pembunuh ni, mungkin lebih baik berundur secara terhormat.
And harap pihak polis and jpj makin tegas lah dengan pihak lorry lepas ni. Anggota awak ni yang meninggal. https://t.co/m21qiInxk4
— Datuk Jahat Hensem (@datukhensem) May 13, 2025
“And I hope the JPJ (Road Transport Department) and the police will be stricter with heavy vehicles after this. It was your crew members who perished.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay has confirmed that the 45-year-old lorry driver involved in the fatal crash has six criminal records – one related to drugs, theft (four) and rape (one).
“All cases resulted in convictions. A urine test came back negative. Despite online claims that he had consumed ketum, no traces of ketum were found, and his urine test results were clean,” Ayob Khan told a media conference at the Hilir Perak police headquarters yesterday (May 13).
As the said lorry driver would be brought to the court today (May 14) for a remand hearing, Ayob Khan also updated the media on condition of the nine injured policemen, of which six were in the red zone (critical condition) while three were in the yellow zone (moderate injuries).
The trolling on Loke became more intense when a commenter played the race card by claiming that “if one Chinese dies, he (Loke) will bring a bunch of (DAP) parliamentarians to make a PC”.
Thankfully, some netizens cautioned him against making racist remark as there were also Malay transport ministers during the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration yet nobody made a fuss when fatal accidents involving heavy vehicles occurred.
Brushing aside racial sentiment. another reckoned that it has to do with people, alluding to “2 or 3 people who died because of unattended potholes”.
“But when Khairi Jamaluddin (then the science, technology and innovation minister) fell and got injured, the issue was settled within one day. It seems that it’s fine if the victims are the rakyat so long as they aren’t VVIPs”.
Other criticism levelled at Loke ranged from not being sensitive to the plight/safety of light vehicle road users and “more apt at selling number plates” to allowing heavy vehicles (buses lorry, trailers) to be ‘road demons’ and little action to curb drunk driving.
However, some fair netizens came out to defend Loke by recalling that when the JPJ conducted a massive operation against errant lorry driver in October 2023, there were much hue and cry that “a Chinese minister is persecuting lorry drivers who are moistly Malays”.
“This led to Loke appointing alternative companies to carry out vehicle inspection services. Now when an accident occurs, why are you (still) attacking him?” – May 14, 2025
