PUTRAJAYA, Oct 12 — The Transport Ministry is targeting the first parliamentary meeting of next year to table amendments to the Road Transport Act that will empower courts to order convicted drunk or drug-impaired drivers to directly compensate victims, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today.
Loke confirmed that the Cabinet has provisionally approved the policy, with the ministry now working with the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) to finalise the draft legislation.
“We are targeting the first parliamentary sitting next year to table the Bill, hopefully. For now, the work is still in progress,” he told a press conference at the Transport Ministry headquarters here.
Loke said that the proposed legal reform seeks to merge criminal and civil proceedings, enabling trial judges to award financial restitution to victims or their families directly as part of the criminal sentencing process, without requiring them to initiate separate civil lawsuits.
Under the current system, police and prosecutors can pursue criminal charges against motorists who cause fatal or catastrophic collisions while intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics, but victims must secure private lawyers and initiate independent civil suits to claim damages.
Loke said that this puts victims at an acute disadvantage, as many families lack the financial resources to fund protracted litigation, as civil suits could drag on for years before reaching a settlement.
“What we are trying to do now is combine these two processes into one, so that when a case is brought before the court, the judge can also award compensation to the victims,” he said.
Loke said the proposed reform draws inspiration from the legal concept of “Diyan”, which he described as both an Islamic jurisprudence principle and a universal moral standard that obligates wrongdoers to provide restitution to injured parties or bereaved kin.
While Cabinet has adopted the policy stance, Loke said drafting the Bill demands care to establish clear statutory mechanisms for assessing and enforcing payment amounts.
The law will apply universally across all communities, he added.
During the tabling of Budget 2027 last Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim affirmed that legislative amendments to the Road Transport Act would encompass motorists driving under the influence of both alcohol and illicit narcotics.
JPJ assisting police probe into fatal Jalan Kuching crash
On a separate matter, Loke affirmed that the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will extend full technical and data cooperation to the police in their investigation into the fatal hit-and-run collision along Jalan Kuching that claimed the life of a five-year-old girl.
“Cases of this nature fall under the police’s jurisdiction, but the Road Transport Department will, of course, provide the police with full cooperation,” he said.
Police have traced the 24-year-old suspected driver of the BYD Seal involved in the fatal incident. The suspect is currently receiving medical treatment for a concussion under police surveillance at a private hospital in Damansara.