No mercy for officers involved in lorry protection racket, says Loke

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be zero tolerance for corruption and integrity breaches among Road Transport Department (JPJ) officers, following reports that some lorry owners are using "protection stickers" to evade roadblocks and inspections, says Anthony Loke.

The Transport Minister said the ministry is prepared to seek the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) help to tackle the issue.

"The ministry practises a zero-tolerance policy. We do not compromise on integrity issues," he told a press conference after launching the TalentBridge Program and Teater LogTech Lab at Universiti Malaya here today.

Also present at the press conference was Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Li Kang.

Loke was commenting on a Malay daily’s report that the illegal stickers were used by lorry company owners to signal to JPJ officers to allow them to pass any roadblocks free of any inspections.

Sources told Utusan Malaysia that certain company owners instruct all their lorry drivers to affix specific stickers on the lorry's cab.

“This is crucial to prevent JPJ from stopping the lorry when it’s on the road,” the source said.

According to the source, whenever these lorries travel on highways or roads, JPJ personnel will not stop the heavy vehicles.

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"Each lorry is charged between RM100 and RM200 per day. However, there are also JPJ officers and personnel who impose a fixed monthly fee of between RM10,000 and RM30,000, depending on the number of lorries owned by the company," said the source.

Citing an example, Loke said that the Transport Ministry had worked with MACC to expose a syndicate involved in corruption within Puspakom recently.

"The investigation is still ongoing, and I am confident that MACC will take appropriate action, including prosecution," he said

He said the relevant authorities will continue to monitor the situation closely and revealed that the JPJ has its own intelligence unit to address the matter.

"We will consistently conduct intelligence operations and cooperate with MACC. Any intelligence that we gather, especially in areas beyond our jurisdiction, will be handed over to MACC.

"For instance, when we uncover integrity issues, action must be taken by MACC. This is because we can conduct preliminary investigations first, and once there is strong evidence, we will immediately collaborate with MACC," he said, adding that he had ordered JPJ to step up such efforts.

"The biggest challenge currently is the issue of integrity in enforcement.

"We know that there are syndicates trying to exploit loopholes to evade enforcement.

"That is why we believe a different approach is needed. This is why artificial intelligence and technology are essential because they allow us to strengthen our enforcement efforts," Loke said.

There were also some complaints in cases of vehicle overloading, where the JPJ had reported vehicles refusing to stop and cooperate, he said.

"This is why we aim to expand the High-Speed Weigh-In-Motion (HS-WIM) system (to monitor the load of heavy vehicles).

"There will no longer be a need to take vehicles to weighing stations. Technology will provide proof of whether a vehicle is overloaded," he said.