THE rise in the fatal accidents makes us feel that being on the roads is no longer safe and haunting as if the roads are cursed with black-magical spells.
If I were the anointed transport minister, the first thing I would do after the first day’s handshake ceremony is reviewing the present road transport related laws, which I would propose that any drunk driver—public passenger vehicle or private car driver, who is found guilty of causing a fatal road accident, will be sentenced to death.
Making death sentence as a law against drunk drivers should not be prejudged as an inhumane punishment.
Instead, it should be vehemently lauded as such a law could be humanising insane drivers who may think that killing people in a ‘road accident’ is sinless but a thing of the past that can’t be reversed.
The death sentence could be made an additional provision to the current road transport law that presently seems to be odourless to the offenders who happily survived from even being jailed.
I have been believing that an absence of fierce provisions of the existing law in punishing alcoholic drivers is the prime reason why drunk driving has been seen as a forgivable fault.
As some recommend, drinking alcoholic drinks in public must be made unlawful as smoking at food places.
Agree or not, prohibiting no business premises, be they restaurant or bar or karaoke club, from openly serving beers and other alcoholic drinks has been the unnoticed factor behind the rise of the drunk devils on the roads.
When an alcoholic drink is openly sold like chocolate ice cream, we cannot just make a wish from a distance that only sober customers would buy and drink it at home over Korean dramas.
Plus, there’s no way for a convenience store’s cashier to stop a seemingly drunk man from buying bottles of beer, unless he is the cashier’s bloodline.
And even food shop owners have no time to check on every table with cartons of alcoholic drinks on it and parentally remind customers to not overly drink them if driving home is what they will do after they are done with the opened bottles.
What would happen to customers after they walk out of an entertainment premise doesn’t matter to the operator as long as its services are paid.
But to innocent road users, their life really matters to their loved ones.
But without the government making the current law stricter, stopping drunk drivers from murdering more innocent lives on the roads will be as pointless as cycling from Langkawi to London.
If countries like Taiwan dare to hang drunk drivers to death, what doubts the government from really implementing the same law?
Road Transport Act 1987 must now be instantly reviewed with stricter punishments, like the suggested death sentence, being installed into it.
What else can make humans human besides a “scary punishment”.
* Amerul Azry Abdul Aziz is an independent writer who now views politics as something that can be researched.
**The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.
Amerul Azry Abdul Aziz
Fri Jan 31 2020
Making death sentence as a law against drunk drivers should not be prejudged as an inhumane punishment.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sah! Tiga kapal tetap berlayar, redah laut Mediterranean 24 April ini
FFC mengesahkan tiga kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla akan memulakan pelayaran pada 24 April depan.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sah! Tiga kapal tetap berlayar, redah laut Mediterranean 24 April ini
FFC mengesahkan tiga kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla akan memulakan pelayaran pada 24 April 2024 bersamaan hari Rabu.
SkyTrax: Kedudukan KLIA jatuh ke tangga 71
Kedudukan KLIA kini di tangga ke-71 mengikut Senarai Lapangan Terbang Terbaik Dunia SkyTrax 2024, jatuh empat anak tangga berbanding tahun sebelumnya.
China arahkan Apple keluarkan WhatsApp dan Thread daripada App Store
Kerajaan China mengarahkan Apple untuk mengeluarkan aplikasi Whatsapp dan Threads daripada App store China.
Empat pelari terlibat kontroversi dilucut pingat
Penganjur acara separa maraton Beijing mengumumkan pada Jumaat bahawa empat pelari yang terlibat dalam perlumbaan kontroversi pada Ahad lepas telah dilucutkan pingat, lapor Xinhua.
ASEAN gesa patuhi konsensus lima perkara
Negara-negara anggota ASEAN menzahirkan kebimbangan terhadap ketegangan yang berlaku di Myawaddy, Kayin State yang terletak di sempadan Myanmar-Thailand, serta di Rakhine State, Myanmar.
ASEAN berkata, ia ingin menegaskan semula komitmen untuk membantu Myanmar mencari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan penuh Konsensus Lima Perkara yang dipersetujui sebelum ini.
ASEAN berkata, ia ingin menegaskan semula komitmen untuk membantu Myanmar mencari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan penuh Konsensus Lima Perkara yang dipersetujui sebelum ini.
Setiap parti politik ada kaedah sendiri – Zahid
Setiap parti politik di dalam Kerajaan Perpaduan mempunyai kaedah sendiri untuk membantu memenangkan calon mereka pada Pilihan Raya Kecil Kuala Kubu Bharu, bulan depan.
Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas laporan mengenai kenyataan MCA tidak akan berkempen pada PRK itu.
Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas laporan mengenai kenyataan MCA tidak akan berkempen pada PRK itu.
Masih setia dengan UMNO, kritikan hanya untuk beri semangat
Ahli Majlis Kerja Tertinggi (MKT) UMNO, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz menegaskan beliau masih setia bersama parti itu meskipun ada mengkritik kepemimpinan UMNO Selangor sebelum ini.
Bekas Bendahari UMNO Selangor itu berkata, kritikan yang dibuatnya sebelum ini adalah berbentuk konstruktif dan hanya ingin membakar semangat parti itu.
Bekas Bendahari UMNO Selangor itu berkata, kritikan yang dibuatnya sebelum ini adalah berbentuk konstruktif dan hanya ingin membakar semangat parti itu.
Titah Addendum: Anwar enggan terlibat, itu bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan dan YDP Agong
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak mahu terlibat dengan perbincangan membabitkan titah tambahan berhubung tahanan di rumah membabitkan bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Anwar berkata, ini kerana perkara itu merupakan di bawah bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan Wilayah Persekutuan dan juga melibatkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu.
Anwar berkata, ini kerana perkara itu merupakan di bawah bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan Wilayah Persekutuan dan juga melibatkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu.
Giat Mara Bagan Datuk naik taraf jadi kampus MCI
Giat Mara Bagan Datuk telah dinaik taraf menjadi kampus Malaysia-China Institute (MCI) bagi melatih pelajar tempatan di dalam bidang Latihan Teknikal Dan Vokasional Malaysia (TVET) sebelum di hantar ke China.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, sejajar dengan itu, keluasan institusi berkenaan serta fasiliti akan ditambah.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, sejajar dengan itu, keluasan institusi berkenaan serta fasiliti akan ditambah.
Kimanis Memilih: It's actually a battle between Bung Moktar and Shafie Apdal
Both of them are now seen as -two godfathers of Sabah- who are in a marathon of winning the Sabahans hearts.