KUCHING, Feb 13: Road Transport Department of Malaysia (JPJ) looks forward to the cooperation of all parties in fighting corruption in the department to ensure JPJ is free of corruption in accordance with the aspirations of Clean Malaysia.
JPJ was responding to allegations in an online news article of endemic corruption among its officers in the local logistics industry which was highlighted in last year’s mass arrest of Penang JPJ officers for alleged corruption.
“The JPJ will never compromise on any corruption and abuse of power in the department. We will enforce disciplinary action and dismissals if anyone is convicted of wrongdoing,” JPJ said in a statement issued here today.
A few months after the crackdown, logistics company workers had informed the online news portal that JPJ officials had resumed soliciting for bribes.
These bribes, some amounting to tens of thousands of ringgit each month, were given in exchange for logistic companies to be able to overload their lorries without fear of harassment or for tip-offs on impending JPJ operations.
To avoid detection, the bribes would be deposited into intermediary accounts belonging to a JPJ officer’s family, their friends or intermediaries.
Workers of these logistics companies have claimed that JPJ officials often worked as a team to solicit multiple bribes from lorries in one trip, targeting them on different roads and checkpoints.
Rather than enforce the law accordingly, the online news portal learnt that JPJ officials invoked heavier punishments for minor violations in an effort to intimidate logistics companies.
It has been reported that logistics companies which initially refused to pay bribes claimed that their lorries were often harassed by JPJ officers, and the harassment had jeopardised their business. Eventually, these companies agreed to pay a monthly bribe. —DayakDaily
