WHILE Malaysia is on a tourism drive, some involved in the industry are driving them away.
On Saturday, two Chinese nationals died when the bus they were travelling in overturned at Km16.5 of Jalan Genting-Bentong near Bentong, Pahang. Nineteen others were injured. Be shocked.
The bus driver had no driving licence! He had 27 summonses! Two culprits stand out in this shameful incident: the bus and tour operators.
Start with the bus operator. It is the responsibility of the bus operator to ensure that the driver is licensed to drive a commercial vehicle such as a tour bus. If he had done so, he would have been alerted. Unless, of course, the driver produced a fake licence. Even here, a check with the Road Transport Department would have alerted the operator.
His traffic summonses, too, could have been detected with the help of the police. Diligence is fundamental to any business. Lack of diligence is an invitation to risk. Suspension or cancellation of licence is one.
Invalidation of insurance is another. Lawsuits, too, can't be ruled out. Lack of due diligence comes with a gargantuan price tag.
The tour operator, the second culprit, has an even greater responsibility to bear.
Ideally, it is at the tour operators' level that due diligence should begin because they are the first and last point of contact.
For sure, tour operators can't be all things to tourists. It is accepted business practice in the tourism sector that some services are farmed out. As in this case, bus tours. But farming out doesn't mean hiring out due diligence. Risks don't get passed this way.
Tour operators, like in this case, will remain responsible for whom they hire. The law places a limit on what can be contracted out. True, the law will certainly go after the bus operator and the driver involved in deadly incident on Saturday. But there is nothing to prevent the Chinese nationals from going after the tour operator.
Media reports of the crash survivors complaining of frequent switching of buses, maintenance issues and missing seat belts are filling the local papers. Grounds for claims?
The tour operator will soon learn that business isn't just about chasing revenue; it's also about discharging responsibility. Responsibility to the letter, need we say?
The Saturday incident is also a reason for the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to begin a microscopic scrutiny of tour operators and, by extension, bus operators. Only in this way can the wheat be separated from the chaff.
Topography at times leads to killer roads. But there is no such excuse for "killer" drivers and bus operators. Regulators, too, must be alarmed into action. There are far too many dangerous drivers behind the wheels of tour and express buses. The drivers must be dealt with the severest punishment for putting the safety of passengers at risk.
But so must the bus companies for employing such errant drivers. We ask an unasked question: has any director of these companies taken an incognito ride on the bus to see for themselves who they have employed?
Unlikely, must be the answer. If yes, and they are still behind the wheels, it is time to remove the directors and the drivers.