PUTRAJAYA: The Transport Ministry will set up a task force to tackle the issue of overloading vehicles, said Minister Anthony Loke.
He said the task force would be given a mandate to implement enforcement methods.
"The task force will be chaired by the Transport Ministry secretary-general (Datuk Jana Santhiran Muniayan) and will involve various stakeholders.
"I want to ensure that this task force runs smoothly and is effective in its implementation.
"If there are immediate actions that need to be taken, they can be executed without further study," he said after officiating at the ministry's New Year mandate.
His response came following fatal incidents involving heavy vehicles.
For example, on Dec 23, a collision involving a tour bus, a trailer and a Toyota Estima at Km204 of the North-South Expressway near the Ayer Keroh R&R claimed seven lives and left 33 injured.
Malaysia recorded 1,457 crashes involving lorries from January 2019 to last month.
The ministry also plans to amend the Road Transport Act 1987 [Act 333], Land Public Transport Act 2010 [Act 715], and Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board Act 1987 [Act 334] to curb the overloading of vehicles.
Loke said the proposal includes setting the compound and fine rates according to the percentage of overloading for offences related to carrying excess cargo.
The proposal also will examine the possibility of imposing liability on the consignee, he added.
"Logistics companies often claim they are forced to overload vehicles due to low payment rates from consignees.
"They argue that without overloading, they would incur losses and be unable to cover their operational costs.
"We want to examine that responsibility. If there is overloading, the (consignee) company should (also) be held accountable."
He added that in terms of the pick-up vehicles used by the small traders, the ministry is also considering gazetting regulations for pick-up vehicles to safely carry goods or loads, as long as they do not exceed the permitted load limit.