TUARAN: Allegations that the road is damaged at the accident site where 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students died are untrue, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
The Deputy Works Minister said that although the road in question was not completely flat, it was in good condition and was last maintained on Friday (June 6).
"Irresponsible people have spread rumours that the accident occurred because potholes caused the bus tyre to burst, leading to the tragedy. I would like to state that there was no punctured tyre and there were no potholes on that section," he told reporters after visiting a slope project at SK Tanghilan, here on Tuesday (June 10).
He added that the Public Works Department (JKR) is carrying out road repairs as it is a federal road.
In the incident early Monday, 15 UPSI students died when the bus they were travelling in overturned in at KM53 of the East-West Highway (JRTB), near Tasik Banding, Gerik.
Ahmad said there is a road sign warning of a bend ahead in the area.
"We will leave it to the special task force to investigate. We do not want to make accusations, especially about technical issues," he said.
He stated that a study by the Malaysian Road Safety Research Institute (Miros) revealed that 80% of accidents in this country are caused by driver negligence.
Another 13% are caused by road conditions and 7% due to vehicle problems. – Bernama
