AT a time when fingers are often pointed at heavy vehicle drivers for their reckless driving habits which endanger the lives of other road users– be it speeding or driving under influence of drugs – it is heartwarming to know that Malaysians are for once true justice seekers or are nether biased in their judgment.
This is primarily thanks to today’s state-of-the-art dashcam technology as Sunday’s (June 7) fatal accident in Sungai Petani, Kedah between a Proton X50 and a lorry which killed six family members has proven.
For a change, the cyberspace was abuzz with netizens rallying behind the Sungai Petani Magistrate’s Court decision to reject a remand application against the 49-year-old lorry driver who was detained by cops shortly after the accident.
After all, Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said a urine screening on the driver returned negative for drugs. He also confirmed the driver holds a valid licence while initial findings indicated the lorry was travelling at about 60km/h at the time of the crash.
The only point of contention is that checks showed he had seven traffic summonses, including four still outstanding.
The dead has been identified as car owner Ahmad Fahim Ahmad Shukri, 21, and his elder brother Ahmad Shafiq, 29, who is also a police corporal at the Nibong Tebal district police headquarters.
Ironically, Ahmad Fahim had only collected the SUV (sports utility vehicle) from a showroom in Juru, Penang, hours before the 3.50pm collision with the soil-laden lorry at Kampung Baru Pinang Tunggal.
There were seven people in the car. The sole survivor of the crash, three-year-old Aulia Sofea Ahmad Shafiq, remains hospitalised with serious injuries.
Five victims were laid to rest at the Al Abidi Mosque Muslim Cemetery in Merbok, Kuala Kedah yesterday (June 8) morning while seven-year-old Iskandar Affan Ibrahim was buried earlier at the Permatang Kuang Mosque Muslim Cemetery in Penaga, Penang.
Hail court decision
A peep into Malay language news portals show that almost all netizens praised the court in rejecting the police’s remand request as this runs parallel with dashcam evidence of the SUV “swaying into the opposite lane of the oncoming lorry”.
“It’s like micro sleep or car in an auto pilot mode …. after all, it’s a new car, so it’s possible to try all sorts of functions until one loses focus on the road,” reckoned one commenter in a Sinar Harian Facebook post.
“But maybe only the dead knows. I nevertheless agree with the court’s action of not complicating the lives of innocent people, just questioning him (lorry driver) is enough. He also has a family to support. My condolences to the victim’s family🙏”
Whatever the case is, many expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Sungai Petani Magistrate’s Court and not forgetting dashcam owners who have come forward.
At the same time, netizens also ticked off the police for wanting to “press charges” against the lorry driver even when dashcam evidence showed that he is innocent.
Elsewhere, a FB post by motoring specialist Muhammad Haffiz which highlighted the lorry driver made to don an orange lock-up garb despite his innocence also sparked furore as some commenters started to compare note with “the kid in the Mercedes-BMW racing incident who only wore a normal T-shirt in court”.
This apparently triggered racist insinuation of “two discerning statures” or that his family “is wealthy enough to hire a lawyer to fight for his right”
Likewise, another social media post by another motoring expert displaying the lorry driver in orange garb also elicited anger among netizens after the poster hinted that the latter’s previous seven traffic offences – four of which had been settled with three more pending settlement – should not be made a yardstick to his guilt.
“Where is the brain of the IO (investigating officer) who took this case?? When we bring up cases of other races walking freely without handcuffs, the police are enraged with us,” berated a commenter.
“But clearly, such treatment is reserved only for the Malays. Can the IO please issue a statement on why he wanted to remand the lorry driver?”– June 9, 2026
