Pima: Driving schools honest and professional

PETALING JAYA: Driving institutes conduct their courses with integrity and professionalism, the Malaysian Driving Institute Association (Pima) claims.

Its president Mat Aris Bakar said his association, which represents about 180 driving institutes nationwide, signed a Corporate Integrity Pledge with the Malaysian AntiCorruption Commission (MACC) and Road Transport Department (JPJ) about three years ago.

“In the past, newspapers reported on issues involving bribery, but not in recent times,” he said when contacted.

On Thursday, newly appointed Transport Minister Anthony Loke said an automated system to evaluate learner drivers would be introduced to prevent “Kopi O” licences and “Guaranteed Pass” packages.

Mat Aris said driving institutes already had a system in which students had to undergo biometric verification for their classes and exams to prevent cheating.

Pima, he said, was also working on a pilot project with a firm to automate driving tests, adding that this involved the Automated Driver Training and Testing System.

“This is a selfregulatory system to remove the need for JPJ to test learner drivers,” he said, adding that this would also help counter the shortage of JPJ examiners.

Presently, “offences” by learner drivers during tests were recorded manually by JPJ officers but under the new system, sensors and cameras would be used, said Mat Aris.

“The previous administration was aware of our pilot project, and we hope that it can be endorsed,” he added.

Learner drivers spoke of mixed experiences during their JPJ road tests.

A learner driver, who wished to be known only as Arati, said she did not encounter any instance of instructors or examiners demanding a bribe from her.

“I had heard all the stories about bribery during driving tests. When I took the automatic driver’s test package, I assumed that it included a bribe.

“To my surprise, many students who took the same package as me failed on the day of the exam, so I think the system is fair,” said Arati, who took the test last August.

Another student, who declined to be named, said her friends convinced her to pay a bribe.

“I asked my friends and most of them failed their tests for petty reasons,” she said, adding that her instructor had also told her that it was not easy to pass.

The student claimed she paid a RM300 bribe for her road test in March last year.

A motorist, who took her driving test two years ago, said she heard others discussing the bribes they had to pay when she was at the driving test centre.

“Almost everyone in my session had paid a bribe, maybe eight out of 10 of them,” she said.