Was enforcement by JPJ lax or lacking?

 

SELANGOR Road Transport Department (JPJ) director Azrin Borhan disclosed that action had been taken against 143 illegal taxi operators from January to Sept 15 this year at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 and 2, and found that 108 were using cars that were rented or borrowed.

Those caught were fined a total of RM419,200 and their cars seized, with the ownership of one car already forfeited.

The fate of the rest would be decided in magistrate court hearings. In any case, seizing vehicles used for carrying fare-paying passengers without a permit is the most effective deterrent to curb this illegal activity.

But such efforts will be negated if JPJ were quick to release the seized vehicles, officially or otherwise, upon being persuaded by illicit operators.

If so, appeals or settlements ought to be declined, and there should be no big hurry to schedule an early magistrate date so that the gravity of the law sinks in on the delinquents.

Daily, hundreds of private cars, vans and multi-purpose vehicles are being used to send fare-paying passengers to and from airports nationwide. The majority may not be involved in touting or offering illegal taxi service at the airport.

Still, they are taking away business from legitimate companies operating licensed tourism vehicles.

Selangor JPJ director Azrin Borhan (Image: Bernama)

Commenting on private taxi service, Azrin  said these activities are illegal and dangerous and that it is not known how well the vehicles used are maintained or if they have valid road tax and insurance.

If an accident occurs, he said, how will they be responsible for their passengers? The short answer is illegal operators couldn’t care less.

Any general insurance company will confirm that only licensed vehicles such as taxis, buses, tour vans and e-hailing cars are covered for legal liability to fare-paying passengers, and private vehicles are not.

Injured passengers would have to sue to get compensation for their injuries, medical expenses, and loss of income.

The amount of compensation will be decided by the court and the motor insurance company is liable to pay. But if there is no valid legal liability to passenger cover and the other driver has no means to pay, the claimant may win only a paper judgement with no monetary compensation, which is as good as no insurance cover.

It is compulsory for all motor vehicles on public roads in the country to be covered for causing third party injuries, and the standard third-party motor insurance policy includes property damage as well.

However, these covers are only valid if the many terms and conditions in the motor insurance policy are adhered to.

Also, there is no cover if a vehicle was driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Therefore, should you be involved in a collision, there is less than a fifty-fifty chance that the other party has valid motor insurance cover.

If you consider the above statement preposterous, then look at the data provided by the Malaysian Vehicle Theft and Accident Reduction Council, which includes the General Insurance Association of Malaysia, Ministry of Transport, JPJ, PDRM, Customs, Bank Negara, Puspakom, takaful, automotive and loss adjuster associations.

The council estimated that nine million motorcyclists in the country are riding without valid licences, and these riders lack formal training in riding techniques, knowledge of traffic regulations, and road safety awareness.

For example, between January and November 2024, a total of 850,000 summonses were issued to motorcyclists.

About 300,000 were without a valid licence. However, transgressions are not limited to the B20 in Malaysia.

While the bottom 20% income group may throw caution to the wind, the T15 are more likely to evade taxes. This top 15% income group was referred to as maha kaya in the 2025 Budget, but their conduct can be shameful.

Those who have accumulated wealth from dubious sources are more likely to pay minimal or no tax for their income or road tax.

All this while, JPJ should be in the know but for reasons best known to itself, has only taken action recently by seizing some of the expensive cars found to be without road tax in roadside operations.

(Image: Bernama)

The top five brands of high-end cars with high capacity internal combustion engines with unpaid road tax were found to be Porsche (4,308 units owing RM13,751,078), Bentley (660 units/RM7,055,197), Rolls Royce (345 units/RM6,455,563), Ferrari (675 units/RM4,718,395), and Lamborghini (372 units/RM3,761,345).

The total amount from 6,360 cars is RM35.7 mil. Have all road tax collected went into our country’s coffers or some are siphoned off?

The various sources of income by tax evaders should be investigated if the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is not stretched too thin by too many cases, both pending and yet to start.

As for JPJ, enforcement has been lax or lacking over the years. Is it finally waking up from its slumber or still stuck in the culture caused by lack of political will in the government and Transport Ministry over the past decades?

Apart from nine million motorcyclists riding without licence, most of them ignore traffic lights, and speed along spaces between vehicles as their rightful lanes.

Some do not put on helmets or wear them improperly, or carry more than one pillion rider, which can be two or three children hanging or balancing precariously for dear life. 

YS Chan is the master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course. He is an Asean Tourism Master Trainer and also a tourism and transport business consultant.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT. 

- Focus Malaysia.