BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Royal Patron of the National Road Safety Council (MKKJR) in a sabda (speech) noted that through the collective commitment of all parties, the country successfully reduced traffic-related fatalities by 50 per cent over the past decade (2010–2020).
Her Royal Highness, however, noted that there has been a worrying increase in the number of accidents and fatalities in recent years.
This, Her Royal Highness added, should serve as a strong motivation to act more vigorously and proactively in addressing this situation.
Her Royal Highness underscored that aside from being an important occasion to honour those who have lost their lives or affected by road accidents, the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims also serves as a reminder for all to reflect on the shared responsibility to make the roads in the country safer for everyone.
Speaking at the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2025 yesterday, Her Royal Highness congratulated and expressed appreciation to all government agencies, particularly MKKJR, as well as private sectors and non-governmental organisations that have been actively involved in efforts to address issues on the ground and organise public awareness programmes.
“I hope that all stakeholders will continue to collaborate and work diligently towards improving road safety across the nation,” she said.
On this note, Her Royal Highness highlighted Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's titah, emphasising the importance of using audit results and integrated data as a solid foundation for planning road improvement measures and formulating policies, including setting a minimum three-star safety rating target for all major roads nationwide.
His Majesty, added Her Royal Highness, also underscored the need to strengthen road law enforcement through strategic and effective approaches, and to ensure that the Road Safety Strategic Plan 2026-2030 involves various stakeholders in an inclusive manner.
This royal directive provides clear guidance that efforts to improve road safety must be comprehensive, continuous, and data-driven, said Her Royal Highness.
MKKJR serves as an important platform to coordinate integrated, systematic, and high-impact actions to achieve the targets that have been set and in this regards. Her Royal Highness commended the efforts of the MKKJR in producing and launching the book Road Safety Action 2030 at the event yesterday.
The launch of this book is also part of Brunei Darussalam’s commitment to support the United Nations’ ‘The Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021–2030’ initiative, which aims to prevent at least 50 per cent of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030, a target also adopted by Asean member countries, Her Royal Highness said. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
