Law on compensating families of crash victims to be raised in Cabinet

KUALA LUMPUR: The transport ministry is preparing a Cabinet paper for a proposed amendment to the law requiring offenders to pay compensation to the families of road accident victims, its minister, Loke Siew Fook, said.

Loke said the proposed amendment has been distributed to several ministries for feedback.

“The proposed amendment will be brought to the Cabinet within one to two months before being sent to the Attorney-General’s Chambers to be drafted as a bill,” he said when winding up the debate on the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2026 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Last week, Loke had said the amendment to the Road Transport Act 1987 would be tabled later this year.

The ministry began drafting the provision in March following a fatal crash in Klang involving a driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Today, Loke said many MPs had raised the issue of justice for victims of crashes involving drunk drivers, drug-impaired drivers, and reckless motorists.

He said he agreed that the victims and their families should not only see offenders punished, but also receive some form of redress.

Loke said the government’s message remained clear, those who drink should not drive.

“If you want to drink, don’t drive. Don’t drink and drive. That is the message we are getting across,” he said.

The Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2026 was passed at the committee stage without amendment before being read a third time and approved by voice vote.