Solve VEP issues swiftly
DELAY: VEP charges that were supposed to start last Saturday were postponed again due to a technical glitch
low the current system to be integrated to enable the RTD to reject any application of driver’s licence renewal if an individual is found to have outstanding traffic summonses from any traffic authorities, including the police, RTD or SPAD, he said.
“We will not be creating a new system but instead, integrating the existing one. RTD will take action as the Road Transport Act is within its jurisdiction,” he said, adding that the Kejara system would also be reinstated and used to curb traffic offenders.
I feel sorry for Liow. With due respect, it is obvious that he does not have full control of enforcement and monitoring issues.
As a journalist for almost three decades now, I had written on plans to link up these systems even back when I was a rookie reporter.
I was very close to Datuk Pahamin Rajab when he was the RTD directorgeneral, and it was under him that I first learned that the systems were not integrated.
If my memory serves me right, the old practice was that details of traffic offenders would be saved in diskettes, which are brought over to RTD’s headquarters to be uploaded into its system. The reverse is done for RTD’s details when uploading into the traffic police’s system.
Pahamin brought many changes to RTD, which is now admittedly more efficient. It was under his tenure that Puspakom was set up as a privatised entity in 1994. The task of commercial vehicle inspection was done by the RTD before the privatisation move.
He had confided then that it greatly concerned him that the systems were not properly linked, resulting in traffic offenders getting away unpunished. It was Pahamin who tweaked the Kejara demerit system to give it more bite.
Almost 20 years later post-Pahamin, Liow now heads a ministry that oversees the overall transport industry and, yet, he is still saddled with a very basic problem — his RTD system is not linked with the rest of the systems.
Liow also had to call for the immediate enforcement of the enforcement of the installation of speed limiters in express and intercity buses. Again, he is at the mercy of another agency.
He had said the system had been implemented for awhile, and his ministry has instructed Puspakom to ensure that all express and intercity buses that pass through its centres for inspections have the system installed in the vehicles.
When asked on the timeline the bus operators have to install the system, Liow said Puspakom would advise his ministry on the matter soon.
Again, he sounds like another agency is dictating the terms.
Obviously, there is a huge anomaly that has been allowed unresolved for too long. We have a duplication of powers that, in the end, does a lot of harm. Why does the Transport Ministry, being the highest body governing transportation, have to wait so long to get its RTD system linked with the rest of the systems?
Or, wait for another agency to get the speed limiter ruling going?
Its role is glaringly in conflict with SPAD’s, which has control over all operating permits of commercial vehicles, including issuing, suspending and revoking them.
It is, however, RTD that issues the special commercial vehicle driving licences, such as the public service vehicle and goods driving licence.
The former is to ferry passengers and the latter, goods.
Then, there are also the traffic police and local authorities in the mix.
Pause for a while and think about it. Each time we get on a bus, our fate might very well be in the hands of some drivers who have little regard for our safety.
Or, are we even safe in our own cars when we have serial offenders roaming our roads and highways?
The law can’t touch them, some say. Wrong. As sad as it is, it is a case of the law not wanting to touch them.
yushem@nst.com.my
PRIOR to an assignment in Singapore two months ago, I decided to drive across the Causeway as it was more convenient, given the fact that I needed to leave Johor late at night. I crossed the Causeway close to midnight. I went through the usual Immigration and Customs checks, and inserted the Autopass card issued for foreign-registered vehicles into the machine at the Singaporean Immigration booth.
The Autopass card is used by foreign vehicle drivers to pay toll, as a Vehicle Entry Permit (VEP) and to pay parking fees in the republic.
As it was a four-day assignment, I was prepared to fork out a hefty amount to pay for the daily VEP charges, which is S$35 (RM103) per day.
My “wise” decision to drive to Singapore at night and keeping my car in the republic for less than two weeks turned out to be a saving grace. The charges were not as costly as I thought.
I paid less than S$20 (RM59) for toll for the four days because I had not used up my 10-day VEP-free passage into the republic this year.
I found out from the Singapore Land Transport Authority’s website that driving into the city state after 5pm was the reason I wasn’t charged VEP.
The fee is not imposed on weekends and public holidays, and between 5pm and 2am on weekdays.
Each foreign vehicle is given a 14day grace period from the date of entry, or up to the expiry date of the vehicle’s insurance and road tax, whichever is earlier. This is an example of a VEP policy in a neighbouring country.
Singapore’s VEP seeks to equalise the cost of owning and using a foreign-registered vehicle in Singapore with that of a Singapore-registered vehicle.
For the record, Thailand imposes a Temporary Import Permit that allows Malaysian drivers to stay up to 30 days in the kingdom from their date of arrival.
Brunei-registered vehicles that enter Sarawak do not pay fees as well, as the drivers only need to obtain a vehicle pass from the Customs Department.
Malaysia’s VEP, which was supposed to have started its RM20 road charge for foreign vehicles entering Johor last Saturday, was postponed for the fourth time.
Road Transport Department (RTD) director-general Datuk Nadzri Siron told the New Straits Times that the postponement was due to a technical glitch despite a month-long trial at the Causeway in Johor Baru and Second Link in Gelang Patah.
Nadzri said the RTD wanted motorists to pay the toll and VEP fees with a single swipe of the cash card, instead of doing it separately.
Some people may accept this reason for the postponement, but it begs the question of the worthiness of equipment used for the VEP.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced two years ago that Malaysia would implement the VEP for Singapore-registered vehicles following a request from the Johor government.
At that time, Najib said the VEP needed some fine-tuning before it was implemented and that the state government would need to inform the RTD of its implementation as part of the administrative process.
The VEP had been proposed in 2006 and 2010 as a means to curb losses incurred as a result of foreign vehicle owners buying subsidised petrol and diesel in Malaysia.
Najib’s announcement two years ago had been made around the same time when Singaporean authorities announced a hike in the republic’s VEP for foreign cars and Goods Vehicle Permit for lorries.
I am all for being fully prepared for the VEP. I do understand the need to settle technical glitches that could possibly affect the system.
This is important because of the large number of commuters who cross the Causeway and Second Link on a daily basis.
The VEP charge only affects foreign vehicles coming into Johor, but it will have an impact on overall traffic flow if the system is faulty.
It will be wise for the Transport Ministry and RTD to clarify VEPrelated issues before the charges begin, including complaints about the registration process, and whether there will be any exemption in charges for certain times of the year.
ahmaddairuz@nst.com.my
The writer is