Puspakom rivals to be announced soon, opening door to consumer choice and healthy competition

KUALA LUMPUR: The three-decade monopoly of the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) will come to an end tomorrow, 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.

"I will be announcing the names of the companies, which were given approval to operate the vehicle inspection centres.

"There will be several new players in the industry," he said when answering a question raised by Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi) in Dewan Rakyat today.

Earlier, Loke informed the House that the concession given to Puspakom was terminated in August 2023.

However, he said Puspakom was given a licence to operate instead.

He said that ending the monopoly held by Puspakom would see healthier competition in the industry resulting in improvements in vehicle inspection.

On the alleged use of “cosmetic agents” who provide “services” such as tyre rentals to allow heavy vehicles to obtain Puspakom inspection approval, Loke acknowledged that there were loopholes in the law which were being exploited.

“It is a problem, especially involving rental of tyres for the purpose of obtaining Puspakom approval.

“The rented tyres are later removed after Puspakom approval with the old tyres refitted to the vehicle,” he said.

Loke said that this was happening as there is a loophole in the law.

“We are aware of the loophole.

“How can the ministry or Road Transport Department take action against these tyre shops when it does not have the power to do so?” he asked.

Loke said that the issue was one for the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) to handle.

“But KPDN must have the regulations or provisions to take action against tyre shops that rent out their tyres for vehicle inspection purposes.

“We need to look at how to close this gap,” he added.

Loke said his ministry would cooperate with KPDN and relevant agencies to plug the loopholes.

He was responding to a question raised by Zakri Hassan (PN-Kangar) on the rental of vehicle spare parts for inspection purposes in light of high number of fatalities involving heavy vehicle such as lorries.

Zakri claimed that a total of 1,457 accidents involving lorries that resulted in about 3,500 deaths, happened between January 2019 and November last year.