UPSI Bus Crash Final Report Flags Unlicensed Operation, Compliance Weaknesses

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23 (Bernama) -- The tour bus in the fatal crash at Kilometre 53 of the East-West Highway (Jeli-Gerik) in Perak, in June last year, which claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students, was found to have been operated by a company without a valid licence or permit under the Land Public Transport Act 2010 (Act 715).

The final Road Transport Safety Investigation Report by the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) special task force stated that at the time of the incident, the operating licence registered under Kenari Utara Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd had been rented out or leased to Noreen Maju Trading without authorisation from the authorities.

According to the report, which was made public today, “the use of a permit by a third party without approval constitutes the leasing of a commercial vehicle licence, which contravenes Section 49(1) of Act 715 and undermines accountability in transport operations.”

Following the findings, the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) revoked the licence of Kenari Utara Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd on June 13, 2025, as the incident reflected compliance weaknesses and negatively affected governance integrity within the tourism public transport sector.

“Information from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) Tourism Licensing and Enforcement Division also showed that Nuratiqah Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd acted as an intermediary by submitting tour guide exemption applications for bus trips on June 8 and 9, 2025, on behalf of another operator.

“Checks via the Tourism Licensing and Enforcement System (TOURLIST) found that the company submitted an unusually high number of exemption applications throughout 2025, including 27 in January and 29 in February,” the report stated.

MOT said the application pattern strongly indicated possible abuse of the exemption mechanism, including licence leasing or system manipulation by unlicensed operators.

In addition, details of the drivers listed for the bus trip on the day of the incident did not match the actual driver involved, indicating weaknesses in physical verification and information control.

Investigations also found that the driving licence of one of the drivers had expired in November 1998 and was never renewed. Both drivers also had multiple traffic summonses, including outstanding ones.

On June 9, 15 UPSI students died when the chartered bus carrying them from Jerteh, Terengganu, to the main campus in Tanjung Malim was involved in an accident on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik. Thirteen were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died while receiving treatment at the hospital.

-- BERNAMA