MP's put differences aside for a common good

PETALING JAYA: With the general election around the corner, it is the norm for opposing politicians to exchange barbs and trade insults with each other in the pursuit of gaining votes for their respective seats.
It is very rare, however, to see two MPs on opposite sides of the political divide uniting over a singular cause.
This is exactly what happened when DAP's Ong Kian Ming and Barisan Nasional's Khairy Jamaluddin put aside their political differences to tighten regulations on sporting events in the country.
This comes in the wake of the death of marathon runner Evelyn Ang who was hit by a car during a race last year.
Ong, who is Serdang MP, took to Facebook to thank Khairy, who is Youth and Sports Minister, for tabling amendments to the Sports Development Act 1997 (SDA) before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Ong said he believed Khairy and his team were committed to improving the quality of race events in Malaysia.
"Running is an activity which brings together Malaysians regardless of background, race, religion, language, height, weight, gender or speed," he said.
Khairy responded to Ong's comments via Instagram, thanking him for his thoughtful suggestions during the debate in Parliament.
"Thank you YB for your thoughtful suggestions during the debate which we plan to incorporate when preparing the regulations to the Act," he said.
Khairy also said he had informally referred to the relevant changes as "the Evelyn Ang Amendments" with the hashtag #RememberingEvie.
He hoped that the changes and regulations would help protect runners.
The proposed amendments to the SDA come following a mishap involving three runners in the Klang City International Marathon 2017 who were injured in a car crash on Dec 10 last year.
The accident resulted in Ang being hit from behind. She suffered a cranial fracture and bleeding in the brain and never woke up from her coma.
She eventually passed away on March 1.
The remaining two runners had injuries to their heads and hands although their injuries were not as severe as Ang's.
Meanwhile, Khairy said the proposed amendments include raising the fine to RM500,000 and extending the jail sentence on organisers who did not comply with regulations.
Errant event organisers are currently liable to a maximum fine of RM5,000 or jail not exceeding six months or both.