KUALA LUMPUR: Only 33 workshops and service providers have been approved by the Road Transport Department (RTD) to retrofit speed-limiting devices (SLDs), despite more than 200,000 vehicles requiring installation.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the number of authorised workshops was inadequate, prompting the government to defer full enforcement.
"We welcome more workshops to become RTD-certified facilities to provide retrofit services," he said in the Dewan Rakyat.
On June 30, the ministry announced that full enforcement of the SLD requirements, initially scheduled for July 1, would be deferred.
Loke said challenges included differences in systems and technology across vehicle models, with some electronic control units incompatible with SLD installation.
"For some vehicle models, technical support from the original manufacturer is extremely limited. The capacity for retrofitting and verifying SLD functionality must also be expanded to accommodate the number of vehicles involved," he said.
He said the ministry was streamlining procedures for verifying SLD installation and functionality, as well as the compliance-record system, to ensure installation details, verification results and vehicle compliance status were properly recorded and coordinated.
"Although full enforcement has been deferred, JPJ will continue to monitor compliance and take appropriate interim enforcement action throughout this transition period," he said in reply to Khairil Nizam Khirudin (PN-Jerantut), who asked why enforcement had been postponed and when it would be fully implemented.
Loke said the ministry was finalising the legal framework governing SLD installation, verification and enforcement. Full enforcement would begin once the framework was gazetted and the remaining implementation details finalised.
"The date for full enforcement will be announced to the industry well in advance, once these matters have been finalised," he said.
He added that the deferment did not mean the requirements had been cancelled or that affected vehicles were exempt, but was intended to give industry players more time to comply.
Loke said compliance was more straightforward for vehicles manufactured after 2015, as SLDs were already required under the vehicle type approval process. However, the actual compliance rate still needed to be assessed.
As of Oct 26, 106,651 verified SLD installations had been recorded among 207,083 active vehicles, representing a compliance rate of 51.5 per cent, he said.
For vehicles manufactured before 2015 that require retrofitting, only 34,514 of 202,861 vehicles had recorded SLD installations, a compliance rate of 17 per cent.
"The main challenge involves vehicles that require retrofitting, as some may be incompatible with SLDs and original equipment manufacturers may be unable to provide the necessary technical support," he said.
Loke added that enforcement would continue to focus on vehicles manufactured after 2015, as there was no valid reason for them to be without SLDs.
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