No Plans For End-Of-Life Vehicle Policy To Remove Old Vehicles - Loke

Malaysia does not have an end-of-life vehicle policy because it is impractical, but instead encourages people to buy carbon-free electric vehicles (EVs) or use public transport, according to Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

Loke stated that such a policy could not be implemented because it considers the country's socioeconomic needs as well as people's living needs in the face of reliance on private vehicles. “We don’t have a policy for end-of-life vehicle unlike some (other) countries. If there is a policy to scrap old cars, it will burden the people.

“Data shows car sales is rising which indicate the economy is in good shape. It is an indicator that we still depend on private vehicles, there is no policy to prevent vehicle ownership,“ he said.

Loke spoke at a press conference on Tuesday on the sidelines of the High-Level 15th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia.

Loke stated that the government would continue to build and invest in public transport in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of becoming a carbon-free country by 2030. "In terms of the ratio of public transportation to private vehicle, the usage of public transport system is still very low at around less than 20%.

"We are hoping to build up more usage of public transportation system, but definitely that will take a lot of effort and time, as well as investment by the government," he told reporters, saying tremendous effort is ongoing place to encourage the EV industry in Malaysia.
He went on to say that 15 of Malaysia's 30 million vehicles are motorcycles, which emit a lot of pollution, so MOT has started an e-motobike incentive of RM2,400 rebate as a first step towards expanding the use of e-motorbikes, as mentioned in a recent Budget 2024 presentation.