Let Chinese employees leave one day before CNY, private sector told

The Transport Ministry has proposed to the private sector to let Chinese employees to leave one day before the Chinese New Year (CNY) to help reduce traffic congestion along expressways.

Its deputy minister, Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said this would enable them to plan their travel, thus minimising congestion and the risk of mishap as they rush home for the reunion dinner on the eve of the CNY.

Commending companies that have allowed their employees to leave one day before the CNY, he also advised non-Chinese not to travel on the eve of the CNY to avoid congestion on the roads.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 2014 CNY Road Safety Campaign at the Sungai Besi Toll Plaza here Thursday, he said the Transport Ministry would take stern action against errant express bus drivers during the CNY holiday.

On the Yong Peng, Johor bus crash last Sunday which claimed three lives, he said investigations showed that it was allegedly due to negligence.

On the course of course of action against those responsible, he said, "Firstly, we may suspend the licence between three months and one year. For the second of subsequently offence, we will not hesitate to revoke it."

In the 1.50pm mishap, 14 people were injured, eight of them seriously, including the bus driver and seven passengers, when the Kuala Lumpur-Johor Baharu bound bus lost control and landed on its side at KM107.2 of the North-South Expressway.

The dead were identified as Mohd Sofwan Nur Hakim Mohd Zaidi, 21, his cousin, Mohd Amirul Asyraf Yaakob, in his 20s, and Mohammad Zikri Othman, 10.