Lorry drivers protest against RTD across several states

(Editor’s Note: This article has been rewritten and updated with additional information.)

Lorry drivers across several states demonstrated today against what they alleged were "unfair" treatment by the Road Transport Department (RTD).

They gathered outside the traffic enforcement agency's offices in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Seberang Jaya in Penang, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, as well as Kuantan, Pahang, to hand over memorandums of protest.

Among others, the memorandums urged for an increase in the lorry's cargo limits, enabling them to transport more goods.

In Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, lorry driver Mohd Irwan Shah Brahim said the RTD's operations were more toward 'punishing', and not 'educating' motorists.

According to him, lorry drivers in Pahang could not bear with the 'pressure' from the enforcement agency any longer.

"Each time there is a change of government, we will voice our views and we will try to support the policies, but the government keeps finding fault with us.

"The rakyat are under a lot of pressure, please see this. Don't use double standards or practice favouritism," he said.

Meanwhile, lorry owner N Gunasilam, 51, said his lorry has been seized by the Pahang RTD for almost six months.

This made it difficult for him to service the loan he took to buy the vehicle as well as his mortgage.

"They told me the vehicle was seized because it was overloaded, but every lorry is weighed before it goes on the road

"I have already paid the compound, and yet after I made the payment they told me my lorry will be auctioned," he said.

"What is the meaning of this? I have already lost my income, so where am I supposed to look for additional funds to pay for another compound?

"What right do they have to auction off my lorry when I have already paid for the compound?" he asked.

In a statement on Sept 18, the RTD said it seized these vehicles for carrying almost 140 percent more than the permitted limits.

The enforcement was carried out under the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) and the Land Transport Act 2010 (Act 715) for breach of procedures.

'Ease our plight'

Another lorry driver, Marutha Selvam, 49, urged the government to be more cognizant of the plight of lorry drivers, who have faced these pressures since early this year.

He added that besides the stringent enforcement by the RTD, the maintenance costs of vehicles are also rising.

He said the law, which allows lorry drivers to be jailed for breaching the set cargo weight limits, is too severe.

"If I can't pay the compound, I get jailed. People ask why are you jailed and the answer is because my lorry was overloaded.

"This is strange. Other people get jailed for heavy crime, but lorry drivers get jailed for overloading and then my children get called 'anak banduan' (prisoner's child)," he said.

Pahang RTD director Kamarul Iskandar Nordin, when met today, said his department received the drivers' memorandum at 10.15am and that the matter will be referred to a higher level in the department, as it involves the Transport Ministry's policy.

'Even empty lorries get stopped'

Meanwhile, in Seremban, around 200 lorry drivers and operators gathered at the Senawang toll plaza before moving to the nearby RTD office to hand over a memorandum.

A driver, Norddin Sidek, 45, urged the RTD to be more considerate as lorry drivers are not "paid really well."

"...If every month we have to pay summons, how are we supposed to support our families? A single summon can cost RM350... how long do we have to put up with this?

"I can't take this anymore. Operations are carried out against us almost on a daily basis... sometimes they even flag down empty (unloaded) lorries," he was quoted saying in news reports.

In Penang, the protest note was handed by Northern Region Commercial Vehicles and Small Business Owners Association chairperson Muhammad Daniel Abdullah, who said that lorry drivers are at wit's end in making a livelihood, due to the constant flagging by the RTD.

"There have been similar operations before, but lately the RTD has become more 'drastic' in seizing trucks, cutting demerit points, and even suspending licenses.

"We don't know what to do now, so we have submitted seven demands, including asking the RTD to review their acts," he reportedly told a news report, after sending a memorandum to the Penang RTD.

Open dialogue

In Kota Bharu, the Kelantan Association of Lorry Owners and Drivers handed a memorandum to state RTD director Mohd Misuari Abdullah.

"We, the transport operators in Kelantan, indirectly contribute toward the state's economic development.

"Rigid enforcement since early this month has affected our livelihood. We have submitted seven demands to be considered by the RTD's top management," the association's representative Azam Daud reportedly said.

He urged for an open dialogue between the association and government representatives for a solution to the issue.

In Kuala Terengganu, a similar demonstration was carried out by the East Coast Commercial Vehicles and Small Business Owners Association.

Its representative Ibrahim Mamat alleged that RTD and the police carried out 'reckless' operations which caused lorry drivers to lose their means of income.

"Lorry operators and drivers are stressed with the enforcers treating us like criminals. Among our demands are the release of load limits, reduction of operating hours, action against manufacturers and miners, increase in commercial vehicle rent, and abolishment of the demerit summons system.

"So we have agreed to go on a strike and not work for a week, and we hope the authorities or the government will pay attention to our grievances," he was quoted saying.

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