Govt Plans Integrated Data System To Monitor Heavy Vehicle Drivers

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- The government, through the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD), is planning to develop an integrated cross-agency database on heavy vehicle drivers to enable more effective enforcement and monitoring.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah said the approach is to identify drivers’ past records at an early stage and prevent those with repeated offences from continuing to operate.

“The development of this system will be carried out in phases, with a focus on integration with existing databases of the Road Transport Department (RTD), Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) and other relevant agencies, in line with the Malaysia Road Safety Plan 2022–2030.

“One of the objectives is to enable data sharing. With advanced digital technology, all this can be done, where we can merge and share data,” he said when responding to an issue on past records in the heavy vehicle industry, raised by Tan Kar Hing (PH-Gopeng) during the Special Chamber session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The data integration would allow authorities to verify the background of both existing drivers and new recruits, thereby supporting more targeted enforcement and intervention, he added.

Hasbi said the government is also moving beyond placing responsibility solely on drivers and will hold operators accountable to ensure they actively monitor the discipline, records and qualifications of drivers they employ, to prevent repeated incidents involving drivers and vehicles with prior traffic offences.

“You pay the driver, you engage the driver, you should monitor your driver as well. Failure by operators to comply with these requirements may result in enforcement action, including suspension or revocation of operator licences,” he said.

On existing enforcement measures, he said heavy vehicle drivers are subject to provisions under the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333), including suspension or revocation of driving licences as well as vocational licences such as the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) and Goods Driving Licence (GDL), in addition to fines, prosecution and the demerit points system for repeated or serious offences.

He said JPJ statistics show that 715 GDL licences and 293 PSV licences were suspended between 2023 and 2025.

At the same time, Hasbi said the government is implementing phased enforcement of the Speed Limitation Device (SLD) requirement for commercial vehicles to curb the risks of dangerous driving, particularly speeding.

“As at Jan 14, 2026, a total of 63,127 out of 513,679 commercial vehicles, or about 12 per cent, have installed SLD and JPJ will continue enforcement on an ongoing basis,” he said.

He added that the government is also emphasising retraining and competency development for drivers as a long-term preventive measure, including a proposal to introduce mandatory rehabilitation courses for suspended vocational licence holders, which is currently under policy review by the Transport Ministry and RTD.

“This initiative is being considered as an enhancement to existing enforcement approaches by incorporating elements of education, rehabilitation and behavioural correction,” he said.

In addition, he said the government is implementing the Malaysia Bus Operator Safety Rating (MBOSR) by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to assess operators’ safety performance.

“The implementation of this rating system allows past safety records of operators to be analysed more systematically and used as input by APAD in considering licensing, permit renewals and administrative action,” he said.

-- BERNAMA