KOTA BHARU, June 9 — The owner of the company that operated the bus involved in this morning’s fatal accident on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding in Gerik, Perak, has denied allegations that his firm used a lorry driver as a back-up driver.

The accident claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students.

Syarikat Kenari Utara operations officer Mohd Nazri Nawi dismissed the allegations, saying they had carried out proper scrutiny and vetting processes before hiring him to replace one of the original drivers, who was still on leave.

“I don’t know how this allegation surfaced or who it was who claimed that we hired a lorry driver as the replacement driver. We have never hired bus drivers at random without proper vetting.

“We admit that the replacement driver was from another bus company, but he is an experienced bus driver and has driven long distances. Not a lorry driver as alleged,” he told reporters at the Noreen Group Operations Office in Tunjong here today.

Elaborating, Mohd Nazri said both the drivers involved in ferrying the UPSI students have clean records and never used any illegal substances.

He added that, so far, based on the information received, the first driver, who works for his company, suffered a broken arm while the replacement driver is in a critical condition.

“I am not sure whether the first driver or the back-up driver was at the wheel when the incident happened,” he said, adding that he was informed of the accident at about 1 am.

“I then rushed to the location but could not meet them as they were undergoing treatment. I was only told that they will be referred to the Taiping Hospital,” he said.

He also hopes that the public will stop speculating about the accident and let the authorities conduct the investigations, adding that they will give their full cooperation. — Bernama