Vehicle age limit implementation a complex matter, needs to be scrutinised - Wee

JOHOR BAHRU: The proposal to resolve the road congestion issue, such as imposing a ten-year age limit on vehicles, needs to be scrutinised as it is a complex matter that requires understanding and research, said Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong.

He said this was because to implement the proposal, the country should provide a complete public transport network system.

He said Malaysia is still in the process to complete its public transportation network through various projects such as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) initiative.

He said, the ministry welcomed any views but there are many aspects to study and more than one solution to tackle the issue.

"To tell people not to use cars, first we must have a perfect public transport system of which now we are still in the process of completing the system," said Wee after the flag-off ceremony of the Tebrau shuttle at Johor Bahru Sentral Station, here today.

He told this to reporters when asked to comment on the proposal from a group of researchers from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) recently, suggesting that vehicles that are more than 10 years old should be disposed of to resolve the road congestion issues in the city.

Meanwhile, Wee said vehicle registrations in Malaysia were over 34 million and only two-thirds of 22 million registrations were still active.

He said, he has identified that some vehicle registration number still exists because people want to keep the registration number of their father's vehicle, even though the car may not be used anymore.

"Imagine if we just throw away the number, our system will be messed up," he said.

Hence, Wee said this matter must be looked at holistically and comprehensively.

"I am thankful to the group of researchers, I understand where they are coming from as many countries are also limiting the age of their vehicles to 10 years.

"But ask ourselves, what type of car does our parents use and what year did they buy the car?," he said, adding that this is an issue that will put 'our village' in chaos.

-- BERNAMA