JOHOR BARU: Luxury vehicle owners – including celebrities, influencers and successful business people – have been caught driving without a valid road tax and insurance for as long as three years, with some skipping payments of up to RM29,000 in arrears.
Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said 270 vehicles, including Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces, have been seized nationwide as part of Ops Luxury’s operation over the past two weeks.
“In Johor alone, we detained 11 vehicles, including a car with an annual road tax of RM12,000.
“In Kuala Lumpur, the highest tax arrears recorded was RM29,000, excluding insurance,” he told reporters.
He added that the operation targeted luxury cars found on the road without valid documents.
“Owners are required to pay all their outstanding road tax, insurance payments and summonses before their vehicles are released.
“Some claim they simply forgot to renew their road tax and insurance policy, but the longest case we found was a vehicle in Kuala Lumpur that went over three years without road tax,” he said.
“How can a car owner forget about renewing their road tax and insurance for such an extended period?” he said, adding that nine of the vehicles seized in Kuala Lumpur were owned by foreigners.
Aedy Fadly stressed that the crackdown will continue in all states, including Sabah and Sarawak.
“It is unacceptable that people can spend millions on luxury cars yet refuse to pay for road tax and insurance, which are crucial to protecting other road users.
“Driving without valid documents not only puts the drivers themselves at risk but also other road users as well, in the event of accidents,” he said.
