JPJ identifies over 15 million vehicles with road tax expired for over five years, majority being motorcycles

The road transport department (JPJ) has identified over 15 million vehicles nationwide that have not had their road tax renewed for over five years, reports Berita Harian. This represents around 37% of the 41 million vehicles currently registered in the department’s database as of December last year, with a significant portion believed to be abandoned or end-of-life vehicles.

According to transport ministry land division secretary Datuk Mohamed Irwan Mansor, motorcyles made up the majority of vehicles with expired road tax at 9.76 million. This is followed by 4.07 million private cars, while the remaining two million is made up of buses, taxis, rental cars and goods vehicles.

“Based on these figures, we are concerned that when a vehicle’s road tax is not renewed for over five years, it is at high risk of being abandoned. For vehicles that are no longer in use, they should be disposed of through proper channels so they can be officially removed from the JPJ registry,” he said.

The data shows that there are currently 15.61 million active cars with valid road tax, which brings the total number of cars in the country, including inactive ones, to 19.69 million,. Meanwhile, motorcycle registrations are at 18.9 million, although 9.2 million are currently deemed inactive on the road.

JPJ identifies over 15 million vehicles with road tax expired for over five years, majority being motorcycles

To address the issue of ageing and abandoned vehicles, the transport ministry launched a matching grant programme for the replacement of old vehicles in January this year. Under the RM10 million initiative, eligible recipients with vehicles aged 20 years or older can receive a grant of up to RM2,000, which will then be matched by participating local vehicle manufacturers, when switching up to a newer vehicle.

Currently, the programme applies to all Proton models, as well as the Perodua Aruz and Ativa. Even if a vehicle is no longer roadworthy, it remains eligible for the grant provided the engine and chassis numbers are intact and the owner is an immediate family member of the applicant. To date, nearly 3,000 owners of old vehicles have participated in the matching grant programme, with RM4.43 million in grants already disbursed.

Irwan also said the ministry will use more high tech methods for road tax enforcement, with the JPJ expected to implement an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to detect vehicles with expired road tax. “This is a preliminary step to track down over 2,000 abandoned cars. We hope this programme raises awareness about the importance of proper vehicle disposal,” he added.

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