KUALA LUMPUR: There are no rules on being fitted with specific tyres to pass Puspakom inspections; only the right size is mandatory, says the centre.
Puspakom chief executive officer Mahmood Razak Bahman said the only requirement under existing guidelines is that the lorry tyres must be the correct size.
“The tyre size used by the vehicles must be the same as the original size of tyres used by the model.
“However, they can still use other types or brands of tyres, tubed or tubeless, as long as the size is the same,” he told reporters at the Puspakom Wangsa Maju branch here yesterday.
He said Puspakom will not pass vehicles under inspection if the tyres used were not suitable.
“If the original tyre of the vehicle is 16 inches but vehicles are equipped with 17 inches, then they will fail the inspection,” he said.
Previously, The Star reported that some lorry owners claimed that they resorted to renting tyres to pass the Puspakom inspection as they claimed that the rules demand that models that originally came with tubed tyres must have such tyres before they can pass inspection.
The practice of renting tyres continues because lorry drivers face challenges when switching between the two kinds of tyres during roadworthiness inspections.
Separately, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the operations at Puspakom’s Wangsa Maju branch here, scheduled to end this June, will be extended to June 30 next year. He said the decision was made as the new inspection centre in Bukit Beruntung has yet to be completed.
He added that the plan to redevelop the Road Transport Department (JPJ) premises here has yet to be underway.
“Our plan with the Kuala Lumpur JPJ was to redevelop this branch site. However, the planning is still ongoing.
“Meanwhile, the Puspakom branch in Bukit Beruntung has yet to be completed.
“Therefore, we are pushing the plan to move the branch (by a year),” he said.
Reports previously stated that the branch, one of the busiest centres, would close in June and relocate its operations to Bukit Beruntung.
“By next year, there will probably also be other new inspection centres, so the operations here (Wangsa Maju) can be reduced,” Loke added.
Three new companies have been appointed to operate inspection centres.
The selected companies have two years to set up inspection centres and obtain necessary approvals.
