Puspakom monopoly ends: New providers to charge fixed rates, cannot be workshops



The Malaysian Ministry of Transport has announced that Puspakom will no longer have a monopoly on the vehicle inspection services in Malaysia effective after its concession ends on August 31, 2024. Its concession will be renewed, but not its monopoly.

With that announcement, the Ministry of Transport has also announced that the invitation process for interested private companies (who wish to provide inspection services) will start in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.

The purpose of the ministry’s decision to end the monopoly is to create a competitive service environment. The ministry predicts that this will facilitate better services for the public and create shorter waiting times. This will also solve the problem of limited Puspakom branches in some areas.

Puspakom mobile service

The Ministry of Transport (MOT) and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will both develop the qualifying conditions, operational regulations, scope of services, and guidelines. They will also determine the inspection locations.

Still yet to be finalised, certain conditions have already been laid out for private companies interested to provide inspection services. These include:

  • Hiring qualified workers
  • Providing & using computerised inspection equipment as regulated & approved by JPJ
  • Providing services which fully meet the scope, standard, & procedure
  • Charge inspection fees according to the specified rates
  • Not allowed to offer repair/modification services or sell spare parts

With the full conditions to be finalised by the MOT and JPJ, the current conditions already rule out the typical workshops to be legitimate inspection centres as no repair/modification services can be provided. The location for these new inspection centres will also be pre-determined by MOT and JPJ. The rates of the inspection services will also be fixed, to avoid a price war between the service providers.

Photo: Bernama

Together with the end of its monopoly, the government is also pushing for change in Puspakom. The concession agreement will be extended by 15 years after August 31, 2024, but several requirements have been made by the government. Part of them being for Puspakom to:

  • Modernise its inspection process to enable online monitoring on a real-time basis by consumers, Mot, & JPJ
  • Increase employee competency, including improving the process for bookings & customer complaints
  • Improve the scope of interior/underbody checks & motorcycle inspections.