Fake news! No plans to scrap old cars, says Transport Ministry

PUTRAJAYA: The Pakatan Harapan government has no plans to reintroduce a policy to eliminate old vehicles from the road, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke (pic).

Loke was responding to  a report published by the Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau, which said the government is expected to implement the “End of Life Vehicle” (ELV) policy by the second quarter of 2019.

“That is fake news. There are no ELV policies for now. As I already said many times, there were studies before this but there is no consideration (by the government).

“I’m shocked at the article which was published before obtaining clarification from the ministry,” he said.

The report had quoted Malaysia Automotive, Robotics & IoT Institute (MARii) CEO Datuk Madani Sahari saying that old vehicles will be required to go through an inspection before being allowed to renew their respective road tax and car insurance.

Loke stressed that matters pertaining to the ELV policy can only be announced by the Transport Ministry, adding that the implementation of such policies lies under the authority of the Road Transport Department (JPJ).

“Road tax renewals also fall under the JPJ, not other agencies. I hope the media will obtain clarification from the ministry before writing such reports."

Loke said that any inaccurate news will confuse the public

“I hope there will be an explanation given to the public; there are no (plans to introduce) the ELV policy for now,” he said, while urging the owners of old vehicles not to be worried.

Loke said that drivers are only required to go for a vehicle inspection under Puspakom if they fail to renew their road tax for more than 12 months.

“That does not take into account the age of the vehicle. Road tax must be renewed every year. So, there’s no issue here." he said

Under the reviewed National Automotive Policy announced in October 2009, the former Barisan Nasional Government introduced mandatory annual inspections as a requirement for road tax renewal for all vehicles aged 15 years or older as a first step towards implementation of a full ELV policy

However, the policy was scrapped after a week following backlash from the public. At the time, it was reported that 2.7mil or 14.5% of vehicles on the road are more than 10 years old.

In 2017, the Maybank Investment Bank Research estimated that about a quarter of the 13.3mil cars on the road are more than 10 years old.

Last June, Loke said the Transport Ministry will not be studying a policy to compel drivers to scrap cars that are more than 10 years of age for cash, following public outcry.- Star