KUALA LUMPUR: The Transport Ministry (MOT) will announce several new companies that will be approved to open new Motor Vehicle Inspection Centres (PPKM) tomorrow, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said.
He said this development comes after the government decided last year that the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom) would no longer be the sole body offering such services.
“We hope that by opening up this market, competition in terms of services will improve, and this will raise the quality of vehicle inspections, ensuring that the integrity of the inspection process is enhanced,” he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was responding to a supplementary question from Syahredzan Johan (PH-Bangi), who asked about the extent to which the monopoly granted to a single company since 1994 has led to syndicates colluding to approve unsafe vehicles.
Earlier, Loke said the evaluation process for applications had been completed, involving a compliance check against the set requirements, including financial capacity and the ability to carry out motor vehicle inspections on behalf of the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
He said currently, Puspakom no longer holds a concession but only a license to operate for conducting motor vehicle inspections.
“I do not want to conclude that syndicates or corruption issues are directly related to the monopoly policy. However, in general, we feel that when an industry has a monopoly, it can sometimes affect the quality of service. That’s why we encourage competition,” he said.
