Hire Purchase Bill 2018 passed in Dewan Rakyat

KUALA LUMPUR: The Hire Purchase Bill 2018 was unanimously passed in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, empowering the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism minister to set a fee for hire purchase agreements for used motor vehicles.

The bill, which seeks to amend Section 4G of the Hire Purchase Act 1967 (Act 212), was passed after it was debated by 14 members of parliament and went through three readings.

Its minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said the inspection service to streamline hire purchase agreements was offered by the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre (Puspakom).

However, the agreement between the government and Puspakom to continue offering the service to users had expired for the interim, until December.

“Therefore, this matter (government procurement system) is open to any company wishing to offer the same service.

“Currently, the service — which covers 22 aspects of the used vehicles — is monopolised by Puspakom, a fully-owned subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Bhd.

“With this amendment (of Act 212), we (government) would have more bargaining power to set the service charge (fee) with Puspakom, thereby helping to increase the government’s revenue,” he said during his wrapping-up speech of the bill.

“After going through the debate session, I take note of the need for the government to relook at the contribution by Puspakom’s charge to government coffers.”