SHAH ALAM: Four Puspakom employees from its Wangsa Maju branch have been summoned by the Road Transport Department (RTD) for questioning over allegations that a vehicle was approved despite not meeting standards.
Puspakom chief executive officer Mahmood Razak Bahman said only two staff were called up to give their statements after RTD conducted surprise checks as part of Ops Gempur at its centres on Dec 31.
He refuted media reports which stated that three Puspakom staff were summoned.
"The third person in the picture (published in the media) was Puspakom's central region director, who accompanied the staff. However, he was not involved in the questioning.
"RTD later decided to call up two more Wangsa Maju Puspakom staff, who gave their statements this morning.
"As such, the number of Puspakom staff who have given their statements to RTD now total four," he said at a press conference at Shah Alam Puspakom at Section 28, here today.
Mahmood said two of the staff summoned had approved the vehicle, while the other two had failed the inspection.
He said two of them had failed the brake system and wipers during an inspection prior to RTD checks.
He said the other two had also failed the brake system, but approved the wipers, which had deteriorated.
Mahmood said Puspakom is waiting for a full report from RTD regarding the statements given by its officers before conducting thorough internal investigations.
He gave his assurance that anyone found guilty of any wrongdoing, including corruption, would not escape stern action.
"We take note of and support RTD's efforts and pledge to continue to cooperate in ensuring that road safety is preserved," he said.
He said he had also met with two of the four who had been summoned and was satisfied with their work as they had no disciplinary records.
"From their disciplinary records, I found no significant issues in terms of their work culture. Therefore, we will wait for RTD's full report before taking appropriate action, including if this is their first offence.
"We will issue a verbal warning, followed by a written warning and then a final written warning.
"If necessary, we will conduct a domestic inquiry and in extreme cases, termination may be considered."
Mahmood also cleared the air on the number of vehicles detained by RTD in the operation.
"Only one vehicle in Wangsa Maju was detained, not seven as reported. The 104 vehicles detained in Perak were actually outside the Puspakom centre and had not yet been inspected when they were seized.
"To date, Puspakom has yet to receive any summonses from RTD throughout the Ops Gempur period which has now entered its third day.
"On Dec 30, 43 branches were inspected. Another 42 branches were inspected the next day and two branches today," he said.
On Dec 30, an RTD check at Puspakom's Wangsa Maju centre reportedly showed that an unsafe vehicle had passed its inspection.
RTD senior enforcement director Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan said 29 vehicles faced enforcement action and 69 notices were issued.
He also said seven vehicles, including five cars and two lorries were seized.