CHIEF Minister Chow Kon Yeow has advised participants of the Northern Bike Week 2019 (Volume 3) to include safety awareness programmes when carrying out their activities.
“There are over 4,000 road fatalities annually in Malaysia, including over 400 deaths in Penang alone. The high fatality rate is a major problem in this country. Every hour, there is a fatal accident,” Chow said in his speech at the Special Raya Hi-Tea Celebration cum Northern Bike Week 2019 Appreciation Ceremony at Hotel Ixora in Seberang Jaya today.
“So, it is important for the association to pay attention to the safety aspect (of the bikers) and help raise the safety awareness.
“The deaths are a big loss to society as many of the victims could still contribute to the country. Moreover, the wife, children and parents suffer when such things happen.
“Hence, the safety issues are important and we need to cooperate with the authorities, like police, in reducing the number of death cases.”
Some years ago, Chow said Universiti Sains Malaysia was engaged to conduct a survey to find out the causes of the accidents – whether due to road conditions, weather, attitude or other factors.
The aim was to try to reduce the fatalities by 10% each year. Initially, the figure went down but he said due to lack of awareness, it went up again.
Chow also thanked Northern Bike Week 2019 president William Khoo and his committee for successfully holding their only third local event on April 26-28 which drew 20,000 visitors.
“The success of holding their only third local event has inspired them to hold an international bike ride,” Chow said.
Khoo said they planned to invite bikers from countries like Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Brunei and Myanmar to take part in an international bike week in 2021. From the vendors side, he said they would invite distributors from Japan, Italy and the United States to join in.
According to Khoo, the participants in the Northern Bike Week 2019 (Volume 3) also took part in charity work in the course of their ride in Seberang Perai in April.
They visited Maahad Ihya Ulumi in Mengkuang Titi, Bukit Mertajam, and Comfort Nursing Home in Sungai Dua, Butterworth, to donate cash and kind.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Nur Afiqah Zainudi
Video by Alissala Thian