Singaporean cyclist’s death sparks fury over Malaysian road safety

Malaysia’s government is under pressure to fix damaged highways and tackle the country’s poor road safety record after a Singaporean cyclist became the latest casualty of roads that claim the life of one person every two hours.

A 42-year-old Singaporean man died on Saturday when he was run over by a gravel-laden truck after he hit a pothole and fell from his bike in the Kulai district of the southern Johor state, police said.

His death came barely a week after 15 university students were killed in a high-speed bus crash.

Malaysian roads are some of the world’s most dangerous, with one person dying every two hours according to official statistics between March last year and March this year.

On Sunday, Works Minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said state authorities would immediately fix the damaged stretch of road where the cyclist had died, promising “comprehensive repairs” to a zone that “poses a risk to road users”.

The cyclist’s death has amplified public criticism of the poor state of Malaysian roads and the danger posed by overloaded and speeding heavy vehicles that routinely flout speed limits and weight restrictions.