Government officials and local authorities of Malaysia are a special breed of people. They are the type who eats breakfast before brushing their teeth, showers before a workout instead of after, and make announcements first before worrying about how to enforce them.
More recently, you’ve seen it happen with announcements on movement restrictions, causing all sorts of confusion and chaos to the public; the same people who pay these leaders and enforcers their salary.
As for the last couple of days, the buzz has been about loud exhausts – a virus that has plagued the less tolerant people of Malaysia longer than COVID-19.
Essentially the deal is that motorists whether bike or passenger car can be fined RM2,000 and jailed up to six months if they were caught with illegally modified exhausts on their bikes or cars, which causes disturbance to others and disrupts public peace.
According to an Instagram post by Bernama, roadblocks will be conducted where the police will be working with the Department of Environment to measure the level of noise from our car’s exhaust system. To that, we’ve got 1001 questions we need answers for.
In the first place, why allow businesses to sell these noise-making tubes then? Wouldn’t it be easier to first determine which aftermarket mufflers and exhaust systems are fit for sale and use on Malaysian roads? Wouldn’t that make things much easier and conforming for everyone?
If not, would exhaust shops be given guidelines as to how noisy an exhaust system can be? Down to the decibel? Will they be required to test the noise levels before allowing the car to roam free and disrupt the peace?
Do we have to get our aftermarket exhaust systems checked with Puspakom for approval after fitting them on? What about higher-end exhaust systems which allow for different levels of noise at the flick of a switch?
Why bother with more roadblocks than we already have now given the MCO, causing more traffic? And what if the car is caught on the move by authorities? Will the authorities scan for noise from their bikes or patrol cars, like how we scan for temperatures these days?
Otherwise, if a car is pulled over for being loud, will the driver be required to speed off, emitting loud noises just so the authorities can measure the noise levels?
What about other more pressing issues regarding the condition of our roads? Driving while using the smartphone? Baby seats? Don’t they pose a bigger threat to the well-being of Malaysians?
Apparently the law governing this issue is already 60 years old, yet exhaust modifications are more accessible than ever. Even the writer of this article has a loud exhaust on his car.
How la?
