KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — The Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) is not authorised to sanction safety measures in auto racing events, said the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM).

Commenting on the insistence by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) — the organiser of a go-kart race that killed two spectators — that it secured MAM’s approval for the event, an AAM supervisor said this was not valid without the latter association’s sanction.

"MAM in the beginning of its establishment had always followed procedures by referring to AAM before authorising any motorsport events,” AAM supervisor Ahmad Shuhaimi was quoted as saying by the Berita Harian newspaper.

"But after two or three years they began making unilateral decisions without consulting AAM… maybe they anticipated no problems”.

MAM yesterday confirmed that it approved UTM’s Educational Innovation of Motorsports and Automotive (EIMARace) 2016 go-kart race in Kuantan, Pahang, on Sunday based on the organiser’s commitment to ensure safety.

Ahmad said, however, that the deadly incident has highlighted the lackadaisical attitude of the MAM and some racing event organisers towards safety regulations and approvals.

MAM should have consulted AAM on aspects such as track design, speed limits, and medical personnel availability as the latter is a body recognised by International Gokart Racing Commission, he added.

Ahmad asserted that the event suffered from both a lack of emergency medical workers and safety marshals.

"Luck was not on their side on Sunday then as the incident exposed MAM’s poor management,” he said.

In a separate report, an unnamed MAM representative said UTM did not honour the requirements set by the association for the approval and was now trying to absolve itself of blame for the incident.

Among these was a blanket ban on spectator trackside after a previous MAM inspection found such areas to be unsafe for the public, the person said.

"The provision of water-filled barriers as recommended by the MAM is also for safety of the racers and not to protect the spectators as claimed by various parties,” he added when maintaining that MAM said spectators must be restricted to special viewing areas only.

The person also insisted that MAM was empowered to give its approval for the event.

Yesterday, Berita Harian reported that event organisers had applied for approval from the AAM but had failed to get it due to the costs involved.

But UTM later disputed this, saying it only dealt with the MAM for approval.

Company supervisor Izwan Isa, 39, and his four-year-old daughter Nur Zulaikha, were killed while his wife and son was injured after they were hit by the go-kart during the race.

A video of the incident showed that spectators were separated from the active track by plastic dividers that flew away the instant these were hit by the go-kart that careened off the road and into the crowd.