IN November 2019, during the Tanjung Piai by-election, UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi criticised the Magistrate Court’s acquittal of driver, Sam Ke Ting, with regard to the accident which caused the deaths of eight teenagers riding their basikal lajak (modified bicycle).
He even uttered racist slurs against DAP and condemned the judiciary, possibly amounting to contempt of court. However, no action was taken against the former deputy prime minister despite police reports lodged against him.
The thing here is, Zahid himself is facing a whopping 47 charges in court; ranging from corruption, criminal breach of trust (CBT) and money laundering.
So, let us take Zahid’s public statements with a pinch of salt!
As for UMNO, I would give them full moral support to its leaders and grassroots members if they have the courage to tell their president to resign. This would do the nation a lot of good as it would ensure non-interference in the judiciary as it could deter undue political pressure and intimidation on our court of law, especially when it comes to Zahid’s cases.
On the basikal lajak tragedy, I feel must come up with a comprehensive solution to stop this accident from happening again, including holding parents responsible for the juveniles’ safety and well-being.
In the past, I used to work as a medical officer at Neurosurgery department, Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Bahru between 1994 and 1995. During the course of my duty, I had witnessed many cases of severe head injuries involving children, with some even resulting in deaths.
They could have been prevented had the adults, including the parents, had taken full responsibility in looking after the juveniles’ safety. I would like to cite two cases here for readers to understand what I mean:
- A Malay girl aged 5 to 6 years was sticking her head out of the car window when her father was driving. Her head hit right on a tree branch while the car was passing near it. She sustained severe head injury and died. So, should the parents not be held responsible in this case?
- A Chinese girl aged 6 to 7 was hit by a 10-tonne trailer in her village road and died of severe head injury. The 10-tonne trailer had no right to be using the village road, and the truck driver apparently failed to consider other road users including children while driving.
Hence, child safety should not never be racialised and what Zahid did in Tanjung Piai was despicable. It is irresponsible for a political leader to racialise road safety issues.
As a former minister, he should very well on the importance of allowing the authorities and our court space to investigate and rule on the matter without political intimidation.
In the future, if necessary, the police should apply Child Act 2001 to ensure that parents and legal guardians are also held responsible, in the event there is an element of neglect which may have caused harm to a child. – April 18, 2022
Dr Boo Cheng Hau is a Johor DAP committee member.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
