Adding a compensation clause to the Road Transport Act will help victims avoid a long-drawn-out civil suit, minister says
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenThe StarPublished: 3:06pm, 13 Apr 2026There is no necessity to introduce the death penalty into the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence, according to Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke.Loke said existing laws were sufficient to prosecute serious offences and that offenders could still be charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, where applicable.“As far as the government is concerned, we have already stopped mandatory death penalties,” he told reporters on Monday after a road safety programme at Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology.
“So this is not something we are considering, even if the opposition calls for it. The government does not need to do everything that the opposition calls for,” he said.
“Without the death sentence provision in the act, the Attorney General’s Chambers can still charge somebody under the Penal Code.”
Instead, he said the government was looking to amend the act by focusing on strengthening support for victims’ families, including requiring offenders to pay compensation.
