Dr Wee: PlanMalaysia to prepare micromobility vehicle ban guidelines

PETALING JAYA: Detailed guidelines on the ban on the use of micromobility vehicles will be prepared by the Town and Country Planning Department (PlanMalaysia), says Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.

Dr Wee said that he had a dialogue session with associations and micro-mobility vehicle operators at his office in Putrajaya on Sunday (June 12) and added that he received several good suggestions that could be considered about the use of such vehicles.

"Among them involve having the micromobility vehicle associations and operators in the Ministry joint committee, besides continuing the safety awareness campaign to the public especially users of micromobility vehicles," he said in a statement on Facebook.

However, Dr Wee stressed that the government never banned the use of micromobility vehicles in Malaysia, adding that the vehicles should only be operated in a safe and controlled environment.

"The ban only applies on the road in order to preserve the safety of the public. In fact, this decision was taken after taking into account the views and involvement of various stakeholders, including local authorities,” he said.

"I am very concerned about road safety and want our roads to be safe for all users. Furthermore, our country recorded a high number of road accidents especially when 64% and 67% of the road accident statistics in Malaysia involve motorcycle users," added Dr Wee.

He expressed his commitment and hoped to continue working with consumer associations, micro-mobility vehicle operators, PlanMalaysia and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to achieve the same goal, which was to ensure public safety.

Also present during the dialogue were Micromobility Electric Industry Association (MEMI) president Mike Lee; MEMI Vice President, Harry Wong, Micromobility Vehicle Association president Edi Khushairy Ab Kadir, Malaysian Micromobility Users Association president Eric Lee, Tryke Transportation Sdn Bhd Head of Operations Vinod Menon, OoGyaa Mobility Sdn Bhd founder Humayun Razzaq and Ride Beam Public Service Manager Diana Taty.

Road Transport Department (JPJ) deputy director-general (Management) Janagarajan A M Mariappan, JPJ director of Enforcement division Datuk Lokman Jamaan and JPJ Automotive Engineer Mohd Yusop Mohamad were also present at the meeting.

Dr Wee on April 26 announced that micromobility vehicles such as mopeds, personal mobility devices (PMDs) and personal mobility aids (PMAs) were not allowed to be used on public roads.

A moped is a two-wheeled or three-wheeled electric-powered vehicle with a maximum speed not exceeding 50km/h.

PMDs and PMAs, meanwhile, are human-powered vehicles or devices that use internal combustion engines and have a speed limit of 25 km/h, such as electric scooters.