Prominent news coverage and social media outrage over fatal accidents involving driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol has prompted the Malaysian government to mull enhancing punitive measures to deal with the problem.

One idea is to amend Section 41 of the Road Transport Act to quintuple the maximum fine for causing death due to reckless driving to RM100,000 and double the maximum jail time to 20 years.

While countries with low DUI and DUI-related fatality rates also usually have harsh penalties against offenders, they usually come hand-in-hand with a number of other regulations on alcohol.

These include limits on when alcohol can be sold or promoted, restrictions on where alcohol can be consumed and higher taxes on alcoholic products...