KUALA LUMPUR: Experts are calling for reforms to the vehicle inspection process to improve transparency and accountability.
They said corruption in the sector was an "open secret", and the authorities should have acted sooner to clamp down on it.
Alliance for a Safe Community chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said a thorough investigation was needed following the remand of a suspect over alleged graft at Puspakom.
The case started when the Road Transport Department found that an unsafe vehicle had passed inspection at Puspakom, leading to four staff members being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Lee, a former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) chairman, acknowledged that the Transport Ministry and MACC were collaborating to uncover possible wrongdoing in the vehicle inspection process, but said this should have been done a long time ago.
"Heavy vehicles are supposed to undergo thorough inspections, but accidents can and have resulted in loss of lives.
"More lives could have been saved had steps been taken a long time ago to address this."
Lee said it was an open secret that some vehicles swapped out faulty parts prior to Puspakom checks, only to reinstall the defective component after passing inspection.
"This is due to the attitude of transport operators wanting to cut costs at the expense of safety. This is unacceptable when lives are at stake," he said.
Miros chairman Professor Wong Shaw Voon defended Puspakom despite its shortcomings.
He acknowledged the existence of "bad actors" subverting inspections but praised the collaboration between the government and Puspakom in improving compliance.
"There are gaps to address, such as integrity issues, but significant strides have been made in road safety," he said.
Universiti Putra Malaysia's Road Safety Research Centre head Associate Professor Dr Law Teik Hua said these regulatory lapses needed to be addressed.
"We cannot tolerate procedural weaknesses when lives are at stake.
"Allegations of corruption must be taken seriously," he said.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke recently said his ministry would collaborate with MACC to tackle integrity issues in vehicle inspections, including tackling "runners" and cartels.
Dr Nur Sabahiah Abdul Sukor, an associate professor in transport engineering at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said integrity lapses were at the heart of safety issues in the transport sector.
"The integrity problem is the main cause of behaviours, such as lying, manipulating records, and neglecting safety standards.
"There should be no compromise on integrity when it comes to inspecting and maintaining heavy vehicles.
"They must be properly inspected and operated by trained drivers to ensure they do not cause accidents."