KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 — The Motorsports Association of Malaysia (MAM) said today that it had authorised the go-kart race that killed two spectators yesterday based on the organiser’s commitment to ensure safety.
MAM also said it is currently conducting a thorough investigation into the accident at the Educational Innovation of Motorsports and Automotive (EIMARace) 2016 go-kart race at Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, and is in contact with the organiser, the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
“The event had been sanctioned by MAM based on the organiser’s commitment to ensure safety enhancements for the safety of all areas, including spectator zones,” MAM said in a statement.
“MAM continues to work with event organisers to ensure that all races are safe for spectators and participants alike. It is particularly important that all members of the public are aware of safe conduct when watching motorsports and that all security personnel have sufficient training to manage race safety,” it added.
Local daily Berita Harian reported today that event organisers had applied for approval from the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM), but had failed to get it due to the costs involved.
National newswire Bernama reported Higher Education Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur as saying that the ministry has set up a special committee to investigate the accident.
A video of the incident, which killed 39-year-old Izwan Isa and his four-year-old daughter Nur Zulaikha, appeared to show that spectators were only separated from the track and racing go-karts by plastic dividers that flew away the instant these were hit by the go-kart that careened off the road and into the crowd.
Organisers had also asserted that the spectators were in a “prohibited” area.
