Fatal incidents: Authorities and organisers need to come together to improve safety, says Saladin
SYDI ALIF23 Jan 2023 08:00pm
Rally driver Saladin Mazlan
Saladin acknowledged that it was good that there was interest in organising races that were previously considered illegal, but have now been brought to designated and secured tracks.
He said, "From illegal road racing that can cause accidents involving public road users, now they've come to the circuit or race track, it's at a level that is safer. But now that these cases happened, it means that the safety measures are inadequate.
"We cannot blame the organisers or Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM). We need to learn from these past events that had caused deadly accidents. The authorities have a huge role to raise the safety level for everyone," he said.
Saladin was responding to questions on the frequency of fatal incidents occuring in a rising number of unsanctioned motorsports events around the country, the latest being when a spectator was killed at a New Year Eve event at the Dato Sagor Circuit when an out-of-control race car veered off the track and ploughed into spectators situated at an unprotected area.
While Saladin thought that perhaps, some organisers or competitors might have overlooked certain areas, but as how the illegal road races had evolved into established events, he insisted the evolution should also include the safety aspect.
Thus in his opinion, by not obtaining a sanction from the governing body, which ensures that safety standards are met before an event is approved, it is like organising an illegal race, thus is incidents would then come under the jurisdiction of the police.
"Let's say, you race on a public road and you get into an accident, then you are subject to the authorities' procedures. It is the same if it is not an event sanctioned by the local motorsports authority, which is MAM.
"Being sanctioned means the organisers are obliged to install safety measures that are regulated by the MAM or International Automobile Federation (FIA)," he said.
Participants can at least be assured that a sanctioned events has the safety measures, protocol and infrastructure in place. The organisers too are protected should any untoward incidents happen despite adhering to safety requirements.
While the incidents have been the talk among the motorsports community, preventive action from the Youth and Sports Ministry has been slow, with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh merely stating she was waiting for police investigations to be concluded.
