Anthony Loke answers pressing questions on recent appointment of three new alternatives to Puspakom

There has been a lot of conjecture surrounding the transport ministry and road transport department’s (JPJ) appointment of three new non-Puspakom vehicle inspection service (PPKM) providers earlier this month. To put those matters to bed, transport minister Anthony Loke has come out in a new video to answer some questions regarding the move, some of which came from the opposition.

Responding to concerns that the companies were not experienced in the field of vehicle inspections, Loke reiterated that it is unreasonable to expect these firms to have such experience, given that before this only Puspakom was allowed to perform vehicle inspections. “Last year, Puspakom’s concession that has lasted 30 years ended. [Now] we have choices. If we continued the concession for Puspakom, that means the public would have no [other] choice. But the government has opened up the market,” he said.

Loke also denied accusations that the government has awarded millions of ringgit in contracts, saying that the companies have not received a single sen, as well as lambasting the opposition for confusing a licence for a procurement contract.

“[It’s] like getting a driving licence – whoever passes the test will get the licence,” he said. “It’s the same thing for these companies – we gave them conditions [to meet] and we gave them conditional approvals for 24 months. That means within those 24 months, the companies must complete their facilities. Only then will the licences be issued to them.”

The opposition’s accusations of cronyism was also batted away, with Loke saying that the current government’s approach is fundamentally different from what the previous Perikatan Nasional government would’ve done. “If I appointed crony companies, surely I will not be so stupid as to openly announce these companies?

“The previous Perikatan Nasional government would have appointed the companies and not disclose them unless asked in parliament. But now, we made the announcement transparently without even being asked. [The companies] applied and were evaluated by the technical committee under JPJ,” he said.

The opposition also asked why one company, Wawasan Bintang, received three locations for its branches, to which Loke said: “They have to look at where those three locations are. One area has a high population, which is Port Klang, but the other two areas are Mersing and Gua Musang.

“One of the imposed conditions is that if [one company] picks an area that gets a lot of business, it also has to open branches in areas that are less populated, which may cause them to lose money. This way, we will ensure services are offered to rural communities.”

In response to accusations on social media that the ministry is only looking to break Puspakom’s monopoly because it is a Bumiputera company, Loke said that the three new companies are also Bumiputera, so race is not an issue. “We do not look at race. The government’s policy is to encourage competition. Why are we stuck in our old ways? Why not give the opportunity to other Bumiputera [companies]?

“This is what we regret, that whatever issue is being discussed, [the accusers] must relate it to race. The way we see it, it is for the good of the country and the good of the people,” he said.

Lastly, Loke answered the opposition’s claim that established companies in the automotive sector, such as Scrut and Carro, are more deserving. He said these firms are more than welcome to apply, provided they do not have any conflicts of interest. “For example, if these people have companies that sell cars, they cannot then send their cars to their own vehicle inspection centres. Companies are involved in the automotive sector, if they want to apply for a [PPKM] licence, they must also create a new company.

“I hope that if these companies apply, [the opposition] does not then twist the story saying that we gave [licences] companies that have conflicts, that are non-Bumiputera and so on. We want this sector to benefit; we want more services [to be offered], more competition, and we want to raise the quality of vehicle inspection services in our country,” he said.

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