JPJ cracks down on foreign drivers, 481,119 summonses issued from 2024 to Sept 2026

KOTA BHARU, Sept 28 — A total of 481,119 summonses were issued by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) against foreign drivers through the special operation codenamed ‘Ops Khas Pemandu Warga Asing’ (PeWA) from 2024 to September this year.

JPJ senior enforcement director Datuk Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan said the main offences detected were not possessing a Competent Driving Licence, expired Motor Vehicle Licence and no insurance coverage.

He said that out of that total, 183,300 summonses were issued in 2024, followed by 191,676 in 2025 and 106,143 for the period from January to September this year.

“The issue of foreign drivers not only involves enforcement aspects but also includes local employers who hire them without ensuring their qualifications and valid documents, in order to reduce operational costs.

“Employers like that can be considered as colluding or betraying the country. As long as there are parties that collude, this problem will continue. The people need to be aware and responsible for not hiring foreign workers who are not qualified,” he said to Bernama recently.

Muhammad Kifli said that the JPJ has taken a stricter approach in the past three months by taking action against drivers and owners of commercial vehicles, including bringing cases to court without offering a settlement through compound payments for certain cases.

He said that foreigners are not allowed to apply for vocational licences such as Goods Vehicle Licence and Public Service Vehicle Licence, therefore employers need to ensure that lorry or bus drivers meet all the stipulated requirements.

“Employers need to reject the practice of hiring foreign drivers who do not meet the specified qualifications. We will take strict action, including seizing and forfeiting commercial vehicles used in such offences under the Land Public Transport Act 2010,” he said.

He said that since 2024, the JPJ has seized three buses and 147 lorries, while for private vehicles, 3,611 motorcycles have been acted upon, with 2,052 of them being seized. A total of 1,301 cars were also taken action against, including 456 that were seized.

Commenting on the involvement of Myanmar refugees, Muhammad Kifli said his team found that some of them rented motorcycles from locals at rates ranging from RM50 to RM200 per month, depending on the condition of the vehicle, before modifying the motorcycles into tricycles to collect used goods and recyclable materials.

Meanwhile, he denied the viral claim that Myanmar refugees would be allowed to have driving licences, while saying that the JPJ had reported the account spreading the false information to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.

According to him, the JPJ will intensify Ops Pewa nationwide and urge the public to provide relevant information to the authorities to help combat the offense. — Bernama