Tuesday September 2, 2008

Retest for vehicles considered

(The Star) PORT KLANG: The Transport Ministry is studying if vehicles approved by Puspakom officers implicated in the recent bribery allegations should be retested.

Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat said the tests were important to ensure that all vehicles met the standards and obtained approval via proper procedure.

He said he did not want untoward incidents to occur due to approvals given to vehicles which were not checked or influenced by bribery.

“However, it is also not right to generalise that the arrest of several Puspakom officers on corruption allegations means that all previous accidents involving commercial vehicles were caused by wrongful approvals,” he told a press conference after visiting Westport here.

Last week, 65 people, including 38 Puspakom staff members, were arrested. The ACA has said that more arrests will be made.

Ong said there were cases for the Road Safety Department and Malaysian Road Research Institute to study deeper if wrongful approvals had been a cause of the accidents. He also said there had been a number of cases where the attitude of the driver was the cause of the accident.

On calls from various quarters to end Puspakom’s monopoly on vehicle checks and approvals, Ong said he would be looking into the company’s concession agreement which ends next year.

“I have to see if there are any negotiations (to extend the concession) and the legal implications of bringing in more companies,” he said.