JPJ Will Seize Vehicles From Firms Hiring Foreign Commercial Drivers

Starting Thursday (Aug 7), the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will get tougher on companies that hire foreigners to drive commercial vehicles and that includes taking the vehicles off the road.

“This will apply to lorries, public service vehicles and tour buses. Foreigners are not allowed to hold vocational licences such as the Goods Driver’s Licence or the PSV. If they do, it’s a serious offence,” said JPJ Senior Director of Enforcement Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan.

He explained that under the Land Public Transport Act 2010, operators who break permit conditions can face action in court, and if found guilty, their vehicles can be confiscated. According to Kifli, the decision follows a worrying trend of companies paying foreign drivers about RM2,500 a month, with some repeat offenders ignoring the rules.

“From January to July this year, we issued 2,733 summonses to foreign drivers of commercial vehicles. Most were for not having a GDL, some had no PSV, and others were caught overloading,” he said.

Kifli urged operators to comply with the law and hire only qualified, licensed drivers. “We will continue to inspect, monitor and take firm action. No one should take this lightly,” he stressed.

The warning came after JPJ’s Selayang operation, where officers stopped a foreign lorry driver who had been using a fake MyKad, a fake driving licence and a fake GDL.

“This is a serious forgery case. We will be investigating the syndicate behind it,” Kifli said.
In another case in Sungai Pusu, Gombak, an Indonesian lorry driver was caught without any documents at all and handed over to the Immigration Department for further action.

Past raids have also uncovered several foreign drivers using forged licences, and JPJ says more investigations are underway.