THE Ministry of Transport (MOT) has submitted a proposal to the Secretariat of the National Economic Action Council (MTEN) to study reducing road tax rates for diesel vehicles as a measure to help ease the burden on the people following the increase in fuel costs.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the matter was in line with the government's efforts to examine a more comprehensive approach to assist diesel vehicle owners who are affected by changes in fuel prices.
He said that currently, diesel prices are set on a floating basis to ensure market transparency and prevent leakage and smuggling activities.
"Our policy is to set diesel prices on a floating basis, except for groups that receive subsidies, because if we do not set a market price for diesel, this will cause more smuggling.
"To assist diesel vehicle owners, firstly, we now have an individual BUDI Diesel of up to RM400 per month and for bus, lorry and other owners, they also receive subsidies through the use of fleet cards. So, for vehicle owners who do not receive this assistance or subsidy, we will see how to help them in terms of reducing road tax,” he said.
He said this at a press conference in conjunction with the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the Road Transport Department (JPJ) Day and the JPJ MADANI Mega Carnival at the Penang Stadium grounds, today.
The ceremony also saw the launch of the new version of the JPJ Smart Application (MyJPJ), as an integrated platform that brings together various department services in one smart application that is more modern, fast and user-friendly.
Anthony said that further studies are currently being carried out to assess the implications of implementing the proposal, including the appropriate reduction rate and its impact on government revenue and will be announced in the near future.
Earlier, the Prime Minister, in his speech at the ceremony, said that the government is considering reducing the road tax rate for diesel vehicles in the near future, as a measure to reduce the burden on the people following the increase in fuel prices.
Loke also said that RTD is now one of the best digitalised compliant government agencies in the country, and hopes to become fully digitalised in all licensing and enforcement areas.
RTD now processes 57 million transactions every year for 20 million registered road vehicles, of which 15.6 million are registered road users.
Around 55% of its transactions are now done online, revealed Loke.
He said that by going online, the RTD saves costs such as RM100 million spent previously on printing road tax discs, unlike now, where it is digitalised.
Eventually, Loke said all enforcement officers would be fitted with a body cam to underline transparency when discharging their duties.
RTD also collected up to RM21.6 million in the issuance of special number plates to mark its 80th anniversary.
Loke said that the top bidding numbers were P1P, P9P, P8P, P6P and P2B.
"The issuance of special numbers is a bid to generate revenue for the government, which, in turn, will be used to help the public," he added. - April 25, 2026.
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