Lorry Driver Who Saved 21 Lives Receives Special Award from Government

KUALA LUMPUR: The bravery of a lorry driver who risked his own safety by using his vehicle to stop an express bus from veering off the road has been recognised when he received a Special Certificate of Appreciation and a token of appreciation amounting to RM10,000 from the government today.

Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, said the appreciation through the Road Safety Council (MKJR) fund was given to Wong Tuck Meng, 40, for his quick action in saving the lives of 21 bus passengers in an incident near the Menora Tunnel, Perak, on June 15 last year.

“Because of the swiftness of a driver, a hero who took action even though it may have endangered himself, that action has successfully prevented a tragic accident and saved many human lives,” he said at a special appreciation ceremony at the Parliament building here today.

Elaborating on the chronology of the incident, Loke said the bus, which was travelling from Kedah to the capital city, experienced technical problems and lost control completely while descending a hill near the tunnel.

He said Tuck Meng acted calmly by allowing the bus to “cling” to his vehicle in order to slow down the momentum impact after the bus had rammed into the rear of his lorry.

“Not only was he able to slow it down, but he also managed to stop the bus without it veering off, by using his lorry and edging the vehicle towards the guardrail while descending the hill,” he said.

As for Tuck Meng, his spontaneous action was taken solely to ensure that other vehicles in front of them had time to get out of the way, apart from avoiding any loss of life.

“I only thought that in such a situation, if possible, don’t let a road accident happen that causes fatalities. The bus was quite far behind, so I had time to honk to give the cars in front time to get out of the way,” he said.

Earlier, the Dewan Rakyat expressed its appreciation and gratitude to Tuck Meng for his bravery.

The appreciation was conveyed by Deputy Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Datuk Dr Ramli Mohd Nor, after Loke presented the second reading of the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2026.

Loke during the presentation also praised Tuck Meng and described him as a “national hero” after his quick action successfully averted a potential tragedy, thus proving that there are still many individuals willing to act to help others for the sake of public safety even without receiving widespread attention.

Previously, a tense video showing the brave action of the lorry driver went viral on social media and drew praise from netizens.

Bernama