KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia does not implement an end-of-life vehicle policy for old vehicles given its impracticality, but encourages the people to move towards carbon-free electric vehicle (EV) ownership or public transportation usage.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said such policy could not be implemented as it takes into account the socio-economic needs of the country as well as the people’s living needs against dependence on private vehicles.

"We don't have a policy for end-of-life vehicle unlike some (other) countries. If there is a policy to scrap old cars, it will burden the people.

"Data shows car sales is rising which indicate the economy is in good shape. It is an indicator that we still depend on private vehicles, there is no policy to prevent vehicle ownership," he said.

Loke told a press conference on the sideline of the High-Level 15th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia here today.

In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) towards a carbon emission free country by 2030, Loke said the government would continue to build and invest into the public transportation system to make it better.

"In terms of the ratio of public transportation to private vehicle, the usage of public transport system is still very low at around less than 20 per cent.

"We are hoping to build up more usage of public transportation system, but definitely that will take a lot of effort and time, as well as investment by the government," he said, citing tremendous efforts are taking place to encourage EV industry in Malaysia.

He added that 15 out of 30 million vehicles in Malaysia are motorcycles that contribute to huge emissions, therefore MOT has started an e-motobike incentive of RM2,400 rebate as a start towards expanding the use of e-motorbike as mentioned in Budget 2024 presentation recently.

-- BERNAMA