Lorry operators want more time to install reflective stickers

JOHOR BARU: Lorry operators nationwide want the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to give them a grace period of at least six months to install the Sirim-approved reflective stickers before enforcement is carried out.

The new JPJ ruling came into effect on Jan 1, for commercial vehicles weighing 3,500kg and above, but there is a shortage of the stickers in the market.

Pan-Malaysia Lorry Owners Association deputy president Anthony Tan Boon Siong said currently, some 70% of the 1.4 million lorries in the country have yet to obtain the Sirim-approved stickers, which are to be installed on the rear of the vehicles.

He said lorry operators complained about the shortage even before Chinese New Year and the situation worsened after one of the two companies selling the stickers ceased operations due to specification issues.

The stickers, he added, could not be purchased in bulk but only one at a time from the sticker counter in Puspakom inspection centres.

“This is a hassle for those with fleets of lorries. We want to commit to JPJ’s ruling but the circumstances are making it difficult for us to do so. We hope that JPJ understands our plight and can give us more leeway to iron out the issue,” he said at a press conference at the Johor Baru Puspakom yesterday.

Commercial lorries must undergo Puspakom inspection once every six months.

Yesterday, Johor Baru Puspakom performance monitoring panel chairman Teh Kee Sin, together with Tan and other lorry operator representatives, met with Johor Baru Puspakom branch manager Abdul Ghani Tasimin.

Teh said lorry operators have also complained about the price of the stickers, which cost about RM89 including GST.

According to sticker company representative Steven Aw, the supply is sufficient to cater to lorries that come to Puspakom for inspection.

“Our prices are higher because the stickers are imported from the United States and are of a better quality to reflect light from a 100m to 300m distance for the safety of motorists,” he said.

Abdul Ghani said Puspakom was not involved in the sale of the reflector stickers but only provided space for the sticker company to carry out its service.

He said the ruling would only be implemented on express and city buses on July 1.