KUALA LUMPUR: The government has no plans to implement a policy that discourages the ownership of private vehicles, particularly those that have reached the end of their useful life.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said despite the government's goal to reduce carbon emissions and make the country an electric vehicle (EV) juggernaut by 2030, the condition and growth of the country's social economy must be considered before a final decision could be made on the matter.
"Unlike some other developing countries, we do not have a policy for end-of-life vehicles at the moment as we need practical reasons (for the implementation of the policy).
"We cannot just implement a policy to discourage the owning of these vehicles. (And) while we are aware that we have (to do our part) to contribute to the reduction of carbon emission, we must also be practical in terms of looking into the status of our social economic development," he told a press conference at the High-Level 15th Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum In Asia.
Loke said this when asked whether the government had any plans to introduce a policy that could control the use of end-of-life vehicles as part of the effort to reduce carbon emissions in the country.
Meanwhile, Loke added that there were more than 30 million registered vehicles in the country, with 15 million composed of private motorcycles.
Following this, he said the government would ensure that a holistic and comfortable environment was established should the policy be implemented in the future
"We want to ensure that we do not create an environment or conditions where our people cannot afford these changes.
"Hence, any changes must be guided and the government is actively assisting in making these changes.
"Such changes like this also take time and it will be inconvenient for the people if we do not allow the use of end-of-life vehicles (in the country)," he said, adding that this was among the reasons the government highly invested in the country's public transportation system.
At the same time, Loke added that the government was also focusing on helping with the transition to the use of EVs, which included the establishment of the national task force and incentives announced in the 2024 Budget tabling.
He added that the government was also exploring options to allow incentives to be given for EV cars.
"In the 2024 Budget, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced special incentives of RM2,400 for the adoption of e-bikes. Moving forward, we are also exploring options (to allow incentives to be given) for other EVs such as cars."
