PETALING JAYA: The deadly crash in Gerik that claimed 15 lives has shed light on a long-standing but largely ignored problem — the widespread leasing of express and tour bus permits, a practice that violates the Land Public Transport Act 2010.
Zainal Abidin Mehat, chairman of the Bumiputera Express Bus Operators Association of Malaysia (PPBBM), said that thousands of buses are operating illegally across the country under leased permits.
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This often involves former bus drivers who buy second-hand buses and run them under permits owned by other companies.
“There are even companies that own dozens or hundreds of permits and take advantage by leasing them out, whether for express or tour buses, at a rate of RM500 per month per permit, raking in tens of thousands of ringgit monthly,“ he told Berita Harian.
He said the practice has been going on for years, driven by the burdensome procedures and high costs required by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) or the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD).
“I often receive complaints about this issue, but it remains unresolved because there is both supply and demand in the permit leasing market.
“The modus operandi involves bus operators purchasing second-hand buses over 10 years old for between RM70,000 and RM100,000, repainting them to appear new and attractive, and using them as tour or express buses.
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“To avoid dealing directly with APAD or MOTAC, they simply lease permits from companies offering such services, paying RM500 a month,” he said.
“Imagine a company with 100 permits earning RM500 per permit every month, they can easily make tens of thousands of ringgit monthly,“ he added.
Zainal warned that many of those involved are inexperienced former drivers more interested in profits than safety.
“They lack the proper knowledge to become legitimate operators and are only chasing fast money, with little concern for the safety of future passengers.
“If the fatal crash on the Gerik-Jeli road hadn’t occurred, this issue might never have been exposed, even though in reality it involves thousands of buses across the country.
“They’re also crafty, during APAD enforcement operations, these buses are kept off the road temporarily to avoid detection for operating under permits belonging to other companies.
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“That’s why sometimes you’ll see one company name on the bus body and another on the permit,“ he said.
He called for stronger enforcement and welcomed government action against rogue operators.
“We welcome the move by the Transport Ministry to revoke the licences of bus companies found to have leased out their permits.”
Transport Minister Anthony Loke confirmed that the bus company involved in the Gerik crash had committed two major violations: leasing its permit and failing to install and activate a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, as required by law.
