The Transport Ministry is reviewing a proposal to make the Safety Star Grading (SSG) programme compulsory to all bus operators, as only 20 bus operators have participated in the programme so far.

Its minister, Anthony Loke Siew Fook, said that his ministry and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) are very concerned with and take very seriously the safety of passengers. The proposal to make the SSG programme compulsory was made as participation of the programme in only on a voluntary basis at the moment.

He said through the SSG programme, the level of bus safety would be determined through a grading system from one star to five stars. This is to ensure that passengers are safe whenever they get on the bus.

"We are exploring the possibility of making this programme compulsory to all bus operators.

"All these efforts are to ensure bus operators pay more attention on security issues, and passengers will be more confident and given more options to choose buses that have better safety record," he said at a press conference recently.