SHAH ALAM: AUTHORITIES are up in arms over foreigners driving vehicles illegally in Selangor.

A three-week statewide operation by the Road Transport Department saw 173 foreigners nabbed for driving without Competent Drivers’ Licences (CDLs).

A majority of those nabbed in the operation from Nov 28 to Dec 19 were in Cyberjaya, Jeram, Ijok and Puncak Alam.

Authorities believe there could be thousands out there driving vehicles illegally. The RTD said more operations would be carried out this year to weed them out.

State RTD director Nazli Md Taib said the operation, codenamed Pewa (pemandu warga asing or foreign drivers), found that the foreigners had committed 389 offences.

Twenty were found without valid travel documents and were handed to the Immigration Department.

“A total of 86 foreigners were also caught driving commercial vehicles, including 60 lorries, illegally.”

In Malaysia, foreigners are not allowed to drive such vehicles, which can only be driven by those with Goods Drivers’ Licences (GDLs).

“Malaysian drivers have to undergo processes and pass stringent tests before they can get CDLs and GDLs,” Nazli said.

“These foreigners are found behind the wheel like we have no laws.

“Based on Op Pewa, it is not impossible that there are thousands in Selangor,” he told the New Straits Times.

According to statistics from the operation, the highest number of foreigners driving without licence were from Indonesia at 52, followed by Bangladesh (46), Myanmar (37), India (26) and Pakistan (24).

The department also issued 354 summonses and seized 26 vehicles.

“Illegal drivers pose great risks to other road users, especially when they are allowed to operate heavy vehicles, as they not only lack training, but also do not understand our traffic laws,” Nazli said.

“In areas where there are a lot of illegal foreign drivers, you can see that they flout traffic rules, such as running red lights, like it means nothing to them.

“The country’s revenue is also lower as these drivers do not pay for licences.”

Shortage of local drivers a cause
SHAH ALAM: A shortage of local lorry drivers is among the causes behind the increase in foreigners hired to drive the heavy vehicles.

Malaysian Hauliers Association (AMH) president Nazari Akhbar said the dearth of locals wanting to work as drivers, or professional container movers (PCM), as they call it, had been a problem.

Last year, he said, the association received complaints from its 110 member companies that they had 600 unfilled PCM posts.

“This issue has been going on for years. Under AMH, there are 13,000 PCMs. But as their businesses expand, our members continue to experience shortage as the drivers’ pool in the country is small.

“The shortage has led to fierce competition among operators for drivers, causing them to turn to foreigners, which is illegal. But, some irresponsible ones just want to save cost, as foreign workers can work for much lower pay, besides not having to contribute to the Employees’ Provident Fund, Social Security Organisation and other benefits.”

The law allows only locals to work as container movers.

AMH had proposed to the government that foreigners be allowed to work as PCMs several years ago, but the proposal fell through.

Nazari said in February last year, AMH had met Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, where they raised several issues, including the shortage problem, following which the ministry introduced the MyLesen GDL programme.

He said the programme offered Malaysians Class E GDL licence courses at a rate of only RM1,650 compared with the usual fee of between RM2,700 and RM3,000.

“Although the number of those who took up the offer was low, about 200, we are optimistic that it can solve the shortage issue.”

Nazari said many youths were not interested in becoming PCMs as they saw it as unglamorous.

This, he said, might be a case of low awareness as a professional mover could earn between RM6,000 and RM7,000 a month plus other benefits.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
RTD , driving vehicles , lorry drivers

Source:
http://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/01/202497/illegal-foreign-drivers-they-number-thousands-says-sgor-rtd