BANGKOK, July 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia needs to have a one-stop agency to deal with public vehicle licensing, monitoring, inspection and enforcement, representatives of Malaysian bus and lorry operators said.
Konsortium Transnasional Berhad (KTB) executive director Tengku Hasmadi Hashim said all government procedures would need to be simplified and enforced by a single agency as practised in Thailand and Singapore.
"We (Malaysia) have too many procedures and this is a burden to transport operators, not to mention the confusion due to different sets of regulations and the extra cost that we have to bear. In Thailand, the various agencies are placed under one roof with the Thai road transport department as the sole authority," he said.
Tengku Hasmadi is part of a 40-member delegation led by Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran visiting Thai transport-related agencies here.
They comprise government officials, public transport operators and representatives from taxi and lorry owners' associations.Tengku Hasmadi said currently Malaysian transport operators have to deal with the Road Transport Department, CVLB, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (diesel subsidy), Computerised Vehicle Examination Centre or Puspakom, Department of Environment (emission), local authorities (bus terminals), Tourism Ministry and police.
Tengku Hasmadi, whose consortium operates Transnasional, Nice, Plusliner and Cityliner buses, also suggested that Malaysia emulate Thailand's bus fare formula which is set according to fuel prices.
Furthermore, he said, it was not cheap to start or maintain the bus express business as each of the vehicle would cost between RM600,000 and RM800,000.
Echoing his views, Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association president Er Sui See said the Thai Government was giving lot of incentives to public transport and lorry operators to run their businesses and help protect the environment.
Citing Thailand's RTD as an example, he said it conducted free inspection for buses and lorries while another 2,000 workshops were contracted to inspect smaller vehicles like pick-up trucks.
In Malaysia, he said, Puspakom has complete monopoly over vehicle inspection and has even increased fees from July 1.
Er said the association, which has 10,000 members, also wanted the government to help bring down their operating costs by reducing road tax.
"In Thailand, a one-year road tax for lorry is only 8,400 baht (about RM900) whereas in Malaysia we're paying more than RM5,000. It's very expensive and we need to pay toll as well, not to mention the high fuel prices now," he added.-- BERNAMA
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