PUTRAJAYA: There will not be any official launches of road safety campaigns during festive seasons this year to discourage the public mindset that safety is only important during such times, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

       “All these official launches are unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong; enforcement will go ahead and such operations to uphold safety on the road will continue during festivals, but without official launches by the minister.

       “We can easily save a few hundred thousand ringgit, what with the meals served and goodie bags, etc,” he told reporters after delivering a New Year address to ministry staff here yesterday.

       Loke said the funds used for such launches could be spent on more meaningful initiatives for the masses, such as trade-ins for new motorcycle helmets.

       “Thousands of people would come to exchange their used helmets for new ones every time we have such an initiative. Sometimes, the used helmets are in terrible, well-worn condition. This shows that the initiative matters a lot,” he said.

       The private sector, he said, could hold similar events using their own funds.

       Loke cited 2018 statistics by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) which showed that road fatalities cause the country to lose RM56.15mil daily, or RM21bil per year.

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       On another matter, Loke said that no air service licence (ASL) – conditional or otherwise – would be considered for MYAirline, which went bust last year, until all refunds are made to customers and deals with its former staff fulfilled.

       MYAirline suspended its operations on Oct 12 last year. The move affected about 125,000 passengers who held tickets amounting to RM20mil.

       A Bernama report yesterday, quoting sources, said MYairline had signed a sale and purchase agreement last month with an investor from the Middle East.

       “As the new investor is now on board, the airline is believed to have applied to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for a conditional air service licence,” the report said.

       Loke said there are several conditions that must be met before an ASL could be considered for the airline, adding that there is also a policy that it must be 51% owned by Malaysians.