“Foreigners Not Permitted To Drive Trailers” - Loke

Picture for illustration purpose only Foreigners are not permitted to drive trailers, despite industry pressure to allow them to do so in order to alleviate driver shortages, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke. Loke cited data on the country's haulage for 2022, stating that there were 766 haulage companies, 16,465 prime movers, 61,616 trailers, and 12,326 drivers. "The government's position so far has been not to allow foreigners to drive trailers, despite industry players insisting that more trailer drivers are needed to make the country competitive," he said at a press conference on Tuesday after chairing the National Logistics Task Force (NLTF) Meeting Bill 1/ 2023 here.  To address the issue, Loke stated that port authorities had been asked to collaborate with the port operator because there are trailer drivers in the port area who do not have the Class "E" licence, which allows the holder to drive any type of commercial heavy motor vehicle with an unladen weight greater than 7,500 kilogrammes. "We want to train port drivers so that they can apply for the Class 'E' licence and a goods driving licence." (GDL). When they leave the port, they will have the option of becoming haulier drivers," Loke explained.

Concerning the management of container depots, he stated that there were numerous disputes on the charges at the depots between logistics companies (shippers) and shipping companies (shipping lines). "They (the stakeholders) are requesting that the government regulate container depots so that there is a legal framework that includes charge management and standard services." "If the container depot operator fails to meet the standards, the government, through the Land Public Transport Agency" . He said.