Association wants exemption over reflective stickers
KUCHING: Sarawak Lorries Transpor t A s sociat ion i s requesting that commercial vehicle operators, who have recently undergone routine inspection at Puspakom and have obtained their licences, to be exempted by Road Transport Department ( RTD) over the installation of reflective stickers on the rear and sides of their commercial vehicles, effective Jan 1 next year.
Its chairman Jong Foh Jit said it was a mandatory requirement for all commercial vehicles to undergo routine inspection at Puspakom every six months, to comply with the Road Transport Act 1987.
“When their licences are due to expire, during which they will have to undergo another routine inspection the operators would have to comply with the RTD ruling on the installation of the reflective stickers, in order to obtain their licences,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
Jong, who is also president of Pan- Malaysia Lorry Owners’ Association, said the association was fully committed to complying with the RTD on enforcing the mandatory usage of Sirimcertified reflective stickers on all commercial vehicles.
Hence, the move to enforce the Si rim-certified reflective stickers that comply with MS 828: 2011 and Recognised Sirim QAS International standard, was aimed to reduce the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles.
The Diamond Grade ( DG3) reflective stickers can be purchased at major Puspakom centres nationwide. They are priced RM60-RM80 a pair. They are produced by two Sirim- certified companies - 3M Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Orafol Reflective Solutions Sdn Bhd.
Jong added that the association had been receiving complaints from many commercial vehicle operators claiming the prices of Sirim- certified reflective stickers were expensive, compared to the conventional reflective stickers at only RM20-RM30.
Under Rules 9A (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, an offender is liable to be compounded a maximum of RM300 or a fine not more than RM2,000 or jail term not more than six months on conviction.
Jong said there were 1.2 million commercial vehicles nationwide. He added that members and commercial vehicles operators, dump trucks, semi- trailers, container trailers and low- bed trailers must comply with the reflective-sticker rule.