Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah recently proposed in the Dewan Rakyat that vehicles older than 15 years should undergo a mandatory inspection before their road tax can be renewed. He also suggested that the government should provide financial incentives to car owners who scrap their old vehicles as a way to phase out older vehicles from the roads.The public has expressed differing views about his idea. Few argue that it is a pointless move because it is only an option in nations with sufficient public transport, salaries, and resources. Others point out that yearly inspections would unfairly burden elderly people who rely on old cars for transportation and have limited retirement income. Some, however, concurred with the MP that older vehicles could endanger other vehicles on the road. Two road safety experts, Rozmi Ismail from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Law Teik Hua from Universiti Putra Malaysia, expressed their concerns to FMT about the risks posed by older vehicles. These risks include issues such as rusted frames, degraded brakes, outdated safety systems, and increased emissions. However, they emphasized that any measures taken should not unfairly affect low-income Malaysians who rely on older cars for their daily transportation and livelihood.“If a car that is more than 20 years old is still good in terms of maintenance, such as the body and engine, then it should be no problem (for the owner to keep it),” Rozmi said.
He said the government should offer subsidies or discounts for owners to ease their financial burden.
“If higher charges are imposed (by Puspakom or the three new inspection companies coming in), these owners may not be able to afford them,” he said in a FMT report.
Puspakom's website lists current vehicle inspection fees as RM30 for ownership transfers, RM60 for hire purchase inspections, and RM50 for voluntary checks. Special inspections have varying costs depending on specific requirements, and all inspection fees range from RM30 to RM90, depending on the vehicle type.
Meanwhile, Law proposed a gradual implementation of the plan to ensure a smooth transition and sufficient planning. He suggested that insurers could offer reduced rates for cars that comply with the plan as an incentive. However, Law acknowledged that businesses might oppose this due to potential administrative costs. To address this, the road safety expert suggested that insurers could collaborate with the government to offer discounted policies for inspected cars.