Govt to consider higher road accident compensation

The Star

THE Government is considering amending the Civil Law Act 1956 to increase the amount of compensation awarded for injury and death caused by road accidents, said Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim.

He said there were grounds to consider a review of the Act in respect of the RM10,000 compensation for the grief suffered by a victim’s bereaved family.

“The Government is aware of this and it has been brought up for discussion at several meetings,” he said when answering a question raised by M. Manogaran (DAP-Telok Intan).

Manogaran had sought a clarification on whether the present laws would be amended to increase compensation awarded to families of those who had lost their lives in fatal road accidents.

Manogaran had sought a clarification on whether the present laws would be amended to increase compensation awarded to families of those who had lost their lives in fatal road accidents.

He said that although no amount of money could compensate the loss of a loved one, the current payment of RM10,000 was very low.

Manogaran said the compensation should be raised to RM100,000.

He also noted that disability compensation, which was calculated up to 55 years of age under the Act, should be reviewed to reflect the changes in the compulsory retirement age of 60 for the public sector and 65 for judges.

Lim said he welcomed any feedback on the issue from relevant parties such as the Bar Council and insurance industry to allow the Government to make the necessary move.

To a question by Datuk Wira Ahmad Hamzah (BN-Jasin), Lim said the Government had introduced a programme to streamline premium payments for third party insurance from January.