PM: Be safe and courteous on the road
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called on Malaysians to practise a culture of safety and courtesy at all times when on the road.
The Prime Minister's advice was conveyed in a special road safety message, which was carried by major newspapers yesterday.
This was the first time Abdullah was reaching out to all road users in this manner.
Abdullah said the culture of safety was very prevalent in Malaysians' daily greetings, such as selamat pagi, selamat petang, selamat malam and selamat pulang.
He said festival greetings such as selamat Tahun Baru Cina and selamat Hari Raya also began with the word selamat which meant “safe” in Malay.
“Hence, the need for us to practise pandu cermat jiwa selamat (careful driving saves lives) for our own safety, and that of our families and other road users,” he said.
He said the need to practise safety and courtesy at all times was all the more relevant in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 when Malaysia would play host to foreign tourists.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our attractiveness can be lost if tourists cannot rely on our public transport system or do not feel safe driving on the roads,” he said.
Abdullah said all Malaysians should make a commitment this year to never take any more risks while driving, including not speeding, not using mobile phones while driving and giving due care to pedestrians.
He said parents needed to be very strict in controlling their own behaviour as well as their children's.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said in his message, which appeared after Abdullah's in the papers, that the number of road accidents had reached a worrying level.
He urged motorists to change their behaviour so that the National Road Safety vision of reducing road deaths substantially by 2010 could be achieved.
“Accidents will continue to occur if our carelessness prevails,” he said.
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called on Malaysians to practise a culture of safety and courtesy at all times when on the road.
The Prime Minister's advice was conveyed in a special road safety message, which was carried by major newspapers yesterday.
This was the first time Abdullah was reaching out to all road users in this manner.
Abdullah said the culture of safety was very prevalent in Malaysians' daily greetings, such as selamat pagi, selamat petang, selamat malam and selamat pulang.
He said festival greetings such as selamat Tahun Baru Cina and selamat Hari Raya also began with the word selamat which meant “safe” in Malay.
“Hence, the need for us to practise pandu cermat jiwa selamat (careful driving saves lives) for our own safety, and that of our families and other road users,” he said.
He said the need to practise safety and courtesy at all times was all the more relevant in preparation for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 when Malaysia would play host to foreign tourists.
“Unfortunately, a lot of our attractiveness can be lost if tourists cannot rely on our public transport system or do not feel safe driving on the roads,” he said.
Abdullah said all Malaysians should make a commitment this year to never take any more risks while driving, including not speeding, not using mobile phones while driving and giving due care to pedestrians.
He said parents needed to be very strict in controlling their own behaviour as well as their children's.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said in his message, which appeared after Abdullah's in the papers, that the number of road accidents had reached a worrying level.
He urged motorists to change their behaviour so that the National Road Safety vision of reducing road deaths substantially by 2010 could be achieved.
“Accidents will continue to occur if our carelessness prevails,” he said.
