Simplify vehicle transfer process

I AM a very senior citizen and I believe I have contributed in my own way to the growth of this country.

In the course of my work and also as a private individual, I have bought and sold many cars. The process used to be quite easy in the past. The buyer and seller simply signed a transfer of ownership document at the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and a registration card was issued in the name of the new owner. If a fee was required, it was negligible. It was indeed a hassle-free process.

But things have changed drastically and in ways that make it extremely difficult for private citizens to buy or sell cars. Let me explain.

The car for sale must first be inspected by Puspakom. The reason given is the government wants to make sure that no unauthorised modifications have been made to the car. After obtaining the clearance from Puspakom, both the buyer and seller must go to JPJ to have their thumbprints taken before the transfer of ownership is confirmed.

There is a long waiting period for those who follow this course, so when I wanted to sell my car recently, I was advised to employ a “runner” to facilitate the transaction.

There are charges, which appear to be standard, for using this runner. Getting an appointment for a vehicle inspection at Puspakom can take a long time for a private citizen. But this can be easily obtained by the runner for a fee of RM180.

Furthermore, the buyer and seller need not go to the JPJ office as the runner can do the transaction on their behalf for a fee of RM250.

If the buyer or seller is elderly or disabled, the “runner” can go to their homes to take the required thumbprints. The charge then works out to RM500. It can be seen that an elderly citizen who wants to sell a car would need to spend a fair sum for the runner’s service.

I cannot see any reason why Puspakom must inspect vehicles that are going to be sold. This additional workload is, I think, unnecessary and also an inconvenience to citizens.

Let the buyer get Puspakom to conduct an inspection if he wants to be sure of the quality of the car he is buying. It should be optional.

It was reported that there are 30 million registered vehicles in this country. It is reasonable to assume that buying and selling of private cars occurs by the thousands every day, hence I would like to appeal to the relevant authorities that they allow the process of transferring ownership of vehicles to revert to the old way.

Let the buyer get Puspakom to conduct an inspection.