KUALA LUMPUR: Only 33 workshops nationwide have been approved to retrofit speed limitation devices (SLDs) on more than 200,000 vehicles, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said the limited number of approved workshops was one reason the ministry decided to postpone full enforcement of the requirement for commercial vehicles.
"As of Monday (Oct 26), only 33 SLD retrofit suppliers nationwide have been approved by the Road Transport Department (JPJ), and this number is clearly insufficient.
"This is one of the reasons we decided to postpone enforcement for the time being," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Oct 27).
Tan Kar Hing (PH-Gopeng) had posed a supplementary question about workshops approved to retrofit SLDs.
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The requirement to install the devices was introduced in phases from Oct 1 last year for designated categories of commercial vehicles, as part of efforts to curb speeding and reduce the risk of accidents.
On June 30, the ministry announced a postponement of full enforcement of the SLD requirement, originally scheduled to begin on July 1.
Loke said the postponement did not mean the requirement had been cancelled or waived, but was intended to give the industry time to complete the compliance process.
He said the ministry was finalising a dedicated legal framework governing SLD installation, verification and enforcement.
"The date for full enforcement will be announced once these matters have been settled," he said.
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Loke added that 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, he said.
"As of Monday, there were 106,651 recorded installations of verified SLDs out of 207,083 active vehicles, a compliance rate of 51.5%," he said.
For vehicles manufactured before 2015, which require retrofitting, only 34,514 out of 202,861 vehicles, or 17%, recorded SLD installations.
"The main challenge involves vehicles that require retrofitting, as some may be incompatible with SLDs and original equipment manufacturers may be unable to provide technical support," he said.
