Limiting the Age of Cars: wait for the money making Agenda.

I am jumping the gun so to speak. Instead of having to lap up to government benevolence and goodness of heart of a caring government when they come out with a compromise later, I am asking the government to dismantle the monopoly given to PUSPAKOM. Instead give out licenses to as many independent garages as possible which can certify the fitness of cars and vehicles on the road. Set the inspection at a reasonable interval- 3 to 5 years. In the UK there are more than 20,000 independent garages set up which can issue eligibility and safety certificates.

I am staring as a possible deft and disingenuous move by the government and the only beneficiary of an idea to eventually reject the proposal to limit the age of cars and vehicles, who will instead  come out on a compromise scheme of mandatory inspection and fitness-certification on all vehicles. And the only body given the monopoly to issue MOT tests- is PUSPAKOM.

PUSPAKOM and its owners will make mountains of money and the BN politicians will come before parliament and declare piously, in the name of 30% Malay equity, it is all right to grant the monopoly to PUSPAKOM.

The government is now studying the idea to limit the lifespan of a car to 12 years. To support the idea, it relies on the findings of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research’s (Miros). MIROS reported its findings that cars more than 12 years old are unsafe and should be taken off the roads.

At the moment it is an idea. but it contains a money making scheme. Lots of it. 

Used car dealers and others are saying the safety of a car depends on a number of things. Usage intensity is one. A 3- year old car if trashed and unchecked can be more of a  danger and menace than a 15 year old car lovingly taken care of. 

Politicians say if the idea is implemented, it would cause households to incur more household debt. The household debt of Malaysians is already one of the highest in the region. Most car purchasers buy cars on a long term car-loan of 9 years.

Old cars are widely used for commercial purposes. Pasar malam traders ferry their goods in beat-up junks. They will probably be hard hit when they are forced to abandon their old workhorses and in turn forced to buy vehicles of not more than 12 years old.

But there is another aspect that one must not forget. What if the government says, because they are a government which listens to its people and who takes the interest of the people as priority, then comes out with a new proposal. It says, we will not set an age limit on cars, but now cars must go for vehicle inspection every 3 years. Who will benefit from that? Naturally PUSPAKOM will be the only beneficiary of such government munificence. 

PUSKAKOM is the privatised vehicle inspection business outfit. Imagine now all cars must be inspected every 3 years and be certified safe before the can get road taxes and other permits. Imagine that each day 20,000 cars are checked and pay RM50 per inspection. PUSPAKOM will earn RM1 million a day, RM365 million a year and makes RM100 million profit annually. 

Imagine further the hardships that car owners will have to endure. PUSKOM testing centres will be flooded  with cars. Owners wanting to get speedy certification may even have to resort to bribing puspakom testers to get their cars approved. Being a monopolist in vehicle testing and certification, puspakom is free to set its testing fee after consultation wit the government especially the transport minister or the approving authorities.

Instead of agreeing to a new benevolent compromise, the people must agitate for the dismantling of the monopoly given to PUSPAKOM. The public must demand the government to issue licenses for vehicle inspection to any independent garages with the necessary qualifications and required instruments and machinery. The same inspection process must be followed exactly by the certified garages.

As the regulator, the government is free to ensure that 30% of the garage owners are bumiputera operators. Now is the chance for the government to put the money where their mouth is- those youths trained at IKM, IKBNs, vocational colleges in automotive sciences to finance these trained youths to set vehicle testing garages. Why limit it to PUSPAKOM?

In the UK, there are more than 20,000 garages certified to give out the MOT tests on vehicles. Car owners have their cars inspected at these garages, issued eligibility certificates by which they can renew car permits. The garages use the same inspection process, inspect and certify the safety of a car on several crucial aspects.

You see, we must now be wary about government proposals. We must have an in-built suspicion now that whatever kite-flying idea the government sets free, must invariably contain some commercial and money making agenda for its appointed concessionaire.

The policies of this government are no longer that of the 20%, by the 20% for the 20%. After looking at the ideas bandied around in parliament, I am now convinced this is a government of the 5%, by the 5% for the 5%. Only 5% controls the money making agenda government.

Posted by sakmongkol AK47