GEORGE TOWN, Sept 2 — Children’s Commissioner Farah Nini Dusuki is urging the implementation of stricter laws to ensure the safety of children on the roads, following a concerning number of accidents involving underage motorcycle riders.
She highlighted the alarming statistic that between 2008 and 2021, a total of 2,900 accident cases involving children aged six to 15 years were reported.
“Out of this, 87 cases involved children between the ages of six to 10-years-old who died from accidents as the riders of motorcycles, not as pillions,” she said in a press conference by Suhakam today.
She said it was hard to imagine how a child under the age of 16 could manage to control the motorcycle, yet it happens.
She said if the number of fatal accident cases involving children were Covid-19 fatalities, it would have raised alarms but since these were accidents, they were not highlighted.
“Instead of focusing on the children involved, we should highlight the number of fatalities due to children riding motorcycles despite being underage and what we need to do to prevent this,” she said.
She said there is a need to strengthen laws to protect the safety of children and prevent them from illegally riding motorcycles.
Last month, Farah had expressed concern over two tragic incidents: a 12-year-old boy in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan caused the death of a 13-month-old toddler, and in another case, two 13-year-old boys lost their lives while performing stunts in Elmina, Selangor.
She pointed out that these incidents highlight the failure of parents or guardians to properly monitor their children’s activities, particularly at night.
Farah also called attention to existing laws, such as Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 and Section 39(5) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which hold parents accountable for neglect and for permitting underage driving.
