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THE Royal Malaysian Customs Department has seized 13 imported vehicles valued at approximately RM4.61 million, including duties and taxes, after discovering they had been stored beyond the legally permitted period in licensed warehouses across the Klang Valley.
Kuala Lumpur Customs director Wan Norizan Wan Daud said the confiscations were carried out during a series of enforcement raids conducted between 5 January and 6 February under Ops Terma, in collaboration with the department’s Customs Division.
Investigations found that the vehicles had remained in storage for longer than the maximum 48 months permitted under Sections 65(2) and 65(5) of the Customs Act 1967.
“The value of the seized vehicles is estimated at RM1.7 million, while the estimated import duties and taxes involved amount to RM2.8 million,” he said.
In a related matter, the Road Transport Department Malaysia (JPJ) has identified more than 15 million vehicles in the country that have not renewed their Motor Vehicle Licence (LKM) for over five years as of December last year.
According to the Transport Ministry’s Land Division secretary Datuk Mohamed Irwan Mansor, the figure represents around 37 per cent of the more than 41 million vehicles recorded in the department’s database, with many potentially abandoned.
Of the 15 million vehicles, about 9.76 million are motorcycles while approximately 4.07 million are cars.
The remaining two million consist of buses, taxis, self-drive rental vehicles, goods vehicles and other categories.
“Based on these figures, there is concern that vehicles whose LKM has not been renewed for more than five years are at risk of being abandoned.
“For vehicles that are no longer in use, they should be disposed of through proper procedures so that their records can be removed from the JPJ database,” he said.
Mohamed Irwan noted that the number of active cars with valid road tax currently stands at about 15.61 million, bringing the total number of cars in the country to 19.69 million, including those with expired licences.
For motorcycles, a total of 18.9 million are registered with the department, of which 9.2 million are no longer active on the road.
He said the Ministry of Transport Malaysia has introduced two initiatives to identify inactive vehicles and those at risk of abandonment, particularly those aged 20 years and above.
One of the measures is the Vehicle End-of-Life Matching Grant Programme introduced under the 2026 budget to encourage owners of older vehicles to replace them with newer, safer and more environmentally friendly models.
Under the RM10 million initiative, eligible recipients may receive a matching grant of up to RM2,000, which is paired with a discount offered by participating local vehicle manufacturers to reduce the cost of purchasing a new vehicle.
“Through the implementation of the matching grant programme, nearly 3,000 owners of old vehicles have participated so far, with RM4.43 million in grants already disbursed.
“This programme is part of the Transport Ministry’s effort to identify cars aged 20 years and above that are no longer in use,” he said.
He added that more than 2,000 obsolete vehicles have already been traced under the programme, which aims to raise public awareness about the importance of disposing of unused vehicles responsibly.
Currently, the programme covers owners of all models produced by Proton Holdings and selected models from Perodua, namely the Aruz and Ativa.
Mohamed Irwan said vehicles that are no longer roadworthy can still qualify for the scheme provided they retain their engine and chassis numbers.
“It also applies to vehicles owned by immediate family members such as parents, siblings or spouses, with a matching grant of up to RM2,000 from the government.
“Through this matching grant, if the vehicle manufacturer provides a RM2,000 discount, the government will match it with another RM2,000 grant, allowing buyers to obtain a price reduction of up to RM4,000,” he said.
He added that the ministry has submitted a request to Perodua to expand the range of vehicle models eligible for the programme.
As part of the scheme, the ministry works with companies operating Licensed Automotive Treatment Facilities (AATF) to ensure environmentally responsible vehicle disposal.
“Components that can still be used will be managed in a controlled manner, while hazardous materials such as lubricating oil, batteries and chemical fluids will be disposed of according to environmental standards,” he said.
In addition, the government plans to introduce an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system to help enforcement officers detect vehicles that have failed to renew their road tax during routine patrols.
He said the system, which can identify the status of nearby vehicles while enforcement teams are on patrol, is currently undergoing the procurement process. - March 16, 2026
