By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 4: The vehicle classification system under the Subsidised Diesel Control System (SKDS) should be reviewed to prevent unnecessary administrative and compliance burdens on businesses, particularly companies using pickup trucks and jeeps for daily operations, said Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sarawak chairman Michael Kong.
Kong said he had received feedback from several companies facing difficulties in obtaining diesel subsidies despite their company-owned vehicles being registered under the “Kegunaan Persendirian Syarikat (AE)” category, which is listed by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) as eligible for SKDS applications.
He said the issue arose because some vehicles, although classified as company-owned under AE, were recorded in the system as “Persendirian (PSDN)”, resulting in companies being required to first change the vehicle category to “Barangan (BRG)” before they could qualify for the subsidy.
“This creates an unnecessary administrative burden for businesses,” he said in a statement today.
He added that changing the classification to “Barangan (BRG)” would also subject the vehicles to mandatory inspections by Puspakom every six months, increasing compliance requirements as well as adding costs, downtime and administrative work for companies.
Kong said the objective of the diesel subsidy programme was to help reduce operating costs, especially for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that depend on commercial vehicles and should not unintentionally introduce additional regulatory hurdles that reduce the intended benefits.
“If these vehicles are genuinely company-owned and where taxes are already being paid by these companies for their businesses, there should be a review of whether it is necessary to distinguish between the ‘Persendirian (PSDN)’ and ‘Barangan (BRG)’ classifications for the purpose of SKDS eligibility,” he said.
He proposed a simpler and more practical approach that would reduce unnecessary bureaucracy while maintaining the integrity of the subsidy programme.
Kong said he would raise the matter with relevant authorities and stakeholders to better understand the rationale behind the current implementation and explore possible improvements.
“Government policies should achieve their intended objectives without imposing unnecessary compliance costs on businesses.
“Where practical improvements can be made, they should be considered so that businesses can focus on growing the economy rather than navigating avoidable administrative hurdles,” he said.
He also urged the authorities to engage industry players in finding a solution that balances regulatory requirements with the operational realities faced by businesses. — DayakDaily
