RTD sets up committee to study driving licence mechanism

PONTIAN: The Road Transport Department (RTD) has set up a special committee to study the mechanism of issuing driving licences following the discovery of a syndicate that issued 14,000 lesen terbang.

RTD director, Datuk Seri Shaharuddin Khalid, said preliminary investigations showed that there were attempts to manipulate the department’s computer system.

This, he said, had led to the issuance of driving licences that were legitimate without meeting the requirements.

“The RTD is taking steps to ensure that this does not happen again. We are tightening the system and licence-making procedures at headquarters-level.

“We have set up a special committee to study the mechanism for issuing licences. We are asking those who obtained such licences to return them. We have their details,” he said.

Shaharuddin was speaking after visiting an RTD officer in Kampung Sawah, Pekan Nanas, near here. The officer was paralysed in a traffic accident.

Present were Johor RTD director Razali Wagiman and Selangor RTD director Nazli Zawawi Zakaria. Shaharuddin said some lesen terbang holders had returned their licences. He did not discount the possibility that many have yet to do so.

“There is a possibility that these licence holders do not know if they are legitimate or not, but we have a list of the licences.”

He said an internal investigation was being conducted on the 12 RTD personnel arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over their suspected involvement in the syndicate.

The Transport Ministry had revealed that about 14,000 driver’s licences were suspected to be issued without proper procedures for the past two years, following the disclosure of a syndicate selling lesen terbang.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke had asked motorists holding such licences to surrender them to RTD’s Integrity Unit within a month starting Sept 12.