The scrapping of Mandatory Vehicle Inspection

Part of the National Automotive Policy launched on 28 October 2009 was the introduction of a mandatory annual vehicle inspection for all cars 15 years old and above (see: NST). This policy was introduced to ensure its roadworthiness as a requirement for road-tax renewal.

The list of items to be inspected, the cost of inspection, the authorised centre for inspection, or the alternative centre to Puspakom for inspection was never made known and presumably are still a 'work-in-progress' or 'under-study'.

In the United Kingdom, there are various car workshops appointed by the British Ministry of Transport for the mandatory annual inspection. Similarly, in Malaysia, other car workshops (and not necessarily Puspakom) can apply and be appointed to carry out the inspection, similar to the United Kingdom, for the Public's convenience.

Without the list of items to be inspected, the cost of inspection, the list of authorised centres for inspection, various parties had objected to the Mandatory Vehicle Inspection Policy.

Without even finalising the study and mechanism, our Government had, on 6 November 2009, scrapped the mandatory vehicle inspection policy (barely a week after it was launched).

The cost to inspect the car should not be a burden to the public, but the items to repair for roadworthiness cannot be compromised... Thus, the importance of first finalising the items for inspection.

The policy should not be scrapped, but the mechanism should be immediately finalised and made known to the public. If the public still protests thereafter, then perhaps the mechanism can be fine-tuned rather than entirely scrapped before any finalisation, which will only signal a FLIP FLOP Government.

Nonetheless, it is our safety that is at stake.

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