The three-decade monopoly of the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) will come to an end this Friday (Feb 7), says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister is scheduled to announce the appointment of several companies to set up vehicle inspection centres as alternatives to Puspakom's operations.
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The Transport Minister is scheduled to announce the appointment of several companies to set up vehicle inspection centres as alternatives to Puspakom's operations.
Read more at https://bit.ly/42HSuAQ
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
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NewsTranscript
00:00I would like to answer this question along with the other questions on the agenda today,
00:07and the other questions regarding Bukit Bintang on 17 February,
00:11and the other questions regarding Bentong and Sungai Petani on 20 February,
00:15because they touch on the same issue, which is the integrity of vehicle inspection at Puspakom.
00:22The Ministry of Transport is very serious about the integrity of vehicle inspection at Puspakom,
00:27especially with regard to the existence of armored vehicles,
00:31vehicles that do not comply with technical conditions.
00:35In this regard, the Ministry of Transport wants to emphasize that the Ministry
00:39and the Ministry of Transport will not compromise on the issue of integrity
00:43and will work closely with other agencies such as the SPRM and the PDRM
00:49to ensure that this issue can be handled effectively.
00:52The Ministry of Transport will carry out more strict and continuous monitoring
00:56to ensure that the integrity of the vehicle inspection process is improved.
01:01Among the monitoring and improvement steps that are planned,
01:05the monitoring by the JPJ will be improved in all Puspakom branches
01:09by providing a special focus to the main branches that have a high number of inspections.
01:15The establishment of KPIs to all parts of the JPJ National Automotive Organization
01:20to further improve the efficiency of Puspakom inspection on the ground,
01:25increase the number of samples for quality inspection by BKA officers,
01:30and monitoring will be more focused on the aspects of vehicle safety,
01:33including the brake system and tyre, which are important components in ensuring road safety.
01:40If there is any element of misuse of power or negligence that is affected by the monitoring team,
01:46the Ministry of Transport and the JPJ will hand over the case to the SPRM for further investigation,
01:50including the case of a vehicle that is not safe but can pass the inspection.
01:56In addition, the provision of operating license under Section 126 of the Road Transport Act 1987 from the Ministry of Transport to Puspakom
02:05has established a level of service agreement that must be followed by Puspakom.
02:11The JPJ, as the authority in the service of vehicle inspection, will carry out monitoring and audit in advance
02:17and if there is any irregularity in the technical inspection,
02:22the blame can be placed on Puspakom for every mistake that is detected.
02:27For information from Aliam Mohamad,
02:29The Ministry of Transport and the JPJ is now in the final phase of finalizing the application for the new Motor Vehicle Inspection Center.
02:37The evaluation process for the application that has been submitted has been completed in line with the agreement
02:41regarding the conditions set, including financial efforts and development as well as efforts to implement the function of motor vehicle inspection for the JPJ.
02:51The application of the successful parties to meet all these conditions is expected to be finalized and announced in the near future.
02:57The Ministry will set strict conditions,
02:59which is the same as those set by Puspakom, which must be followed by the new companies that will be appointed.
03:06All steps and actions are in line with the government's commitment to maintain the importance of vehicle inspection
03:13to increase the level of road safety by adhering to the technical requirements and the safety that has been established.
03:36Thank you, Mr. Ahbar Mutahir.
03:38And we want those who take bribery until it affects the safety of the people to be brought to court and also to be punished.
03:46So, the answer of the Minister just now, I think, gives us a relief.
03:50My additional question, Mr. Chairman, is how far the practice that essentially allows a monopoly on a company since 1994,
04:03which is more or less 30 years, has caused the syndicates to collude to pass unsafe vehicles.
04:12Please, Mr. Minister.
04:14Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your concern.
04:16First, I do not want to say that this syndicate or bribery issue is related to the basis of monopoly.
04:26But in general, we do feel that if an industry has a monopoly, it will sometimes affect the needs of consumers.
04:37And that is why we have a competition.
04:40And the Ministry of Transport has also received approval from the Ministry of Transport to terminate the concession basis or the monopoly basis to Puspakom last year.
04:52At this time, Puspakom no longer has a concession.
04:57What we give them is just a license to operate.
05:02And what we do is we open the vehicle inspection market to more other entrepreneurs.
05:09And we have made an assessment.
05:11And tomorrow, I will announce several new companies that will be given a license to open this inspection center.
05:19So tomorrow, I will announce several new players in this vehicle inspection industry.
05:26We hope that when we open this market, there will be competition in terms of consumption.
05:31It will further increase the need for vehicle inspection.
05:35And so that we can ensure that the integrity of this vehicle inspection can be improved together.
05:42Please, Mr. President.
05:45Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
05:48So, on average, three lorries are involved in an accident per day and contributed to 5,364 deaths in 2024 in Malaysia.
06:02And between January 2019 and November last year, a total of 1,457 deaths were recorded in 3,500 accidents involving lorries across the country.
06:18So my question is, how does the Ministry ensure the effectiveness of the special task force in handling accidents involving deaths
06:31involving lorries?
06:33And what measures have been taken to reduce the risk of accidents in addition to a thorough inspection protocol?
06:44And the last question, does the government propose to introduce a special mechanism to detect and track commercial vehicles
06:54that use rental vehicles when inspecting at the Puspako facility?
07:04Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
07:05Indeed, we take it seriously against accidents involving these lorries.
07:10That is why the Ministry of Transport has taken serious action,
07:14including I have directed the Chairperson to manage a special task force to see comprehensively
07:21what measures can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents involving these lorries.
07:26It is a matter of inspection of the vehicle, but there are also other issues, such as overloading.
07:33In general, we know that there is a lot of overloading, a lot of people taking more than what is allowed.
07:40So we have various measures to deal with the issue.
07:46Secondly, in terms of safety, or awareness of safety,
07:54which needs to be strengthened among the entrepreneurs.
07:58So we conduct an audit of the contractors,
08:03so that they give priority to safety issues.
08:08And indeed, what was mentioned by Mr. Mohamad earlier about the rental of components during this inspection,
08:16this is indeed a problem.
08:19For example, there is a tyre that was rented,
08:23and it was sent to Puspakom, and it was approved.
08:26The tyre was approved.
08:27But when it was removed from Puspakom, it was replaced with the original tyre.
08:31That is what we know, that there is a gap there.
08:36There is a loophole.
08:37But how do we take action?
08:39In terms of the Ministry of Transport, there is no power.
08:41JPJ has no power to enforce it in the tyre factory.
08:45We have to work together with the KPDN.
08:48But the KPDN also needs to look at the regulations or laws
08:52that can restrict the owner of the tyre factory
08:55from renting it to the people who want to rent the tyre for the purpose of the inspection.
09:00So there are several gaps that we need to look at how we overcome.
09:06So I will work together with other ministries, especially the KPDN,
09:10to look at the first issue that we need to tackle, which is the tyre.
09:14The tyre issue that was mentioned by Mr. Mohamad is correct.
09:18We know that there is an action like this that was brought by the contractor,
09:24as if they want to use a bad tyre for the operation.
09:30That is what we need to take a firm action to deal with the issue.
09:34So I am very grateful to what Mr. Mohamad said.
09:38The Ministry of Transport really wants to deal with this issue.
09:43And indeed, the issue of road safety,
09:46and especially the accidents involving these heavy vehicles,
09:49are given great attention.
09:51And we hope that these various steps can be supported
09:54and also supported by Mr. Mohamad and also by the public in general.