At present, the road tax (formally known as lesen kenderaan motor, or LKM) fee for motor vehicles in Malaysia is determined by taking into account a number of variables, such as engine capacity, fuel type, vehicle body type/code, type of ownership, type of use and the area where the vehicle is declared to be used.
The system has been around – and unchanged – for a long while, and this has prompted the question if the mechanism should be improved and that it also properly reflects the cost of road maintenance in relation to the type of vehicle involved.
That was what senator Robert Lau Hui Yew (SUPP) asked the transport ministry in parliament last week, and in a written response, the ministry said the collection of LKM fees is considered as revenue collection of the government as a whole, and there was no stipulation under Act 333 stating that all LKM fee collections could only be used solely for the purpose of road maintenance.
The ministry added that it, working together with the road transport department (JPJ), is always looking into existing calculation methods for road tax to ensure that the structure is always relevant based on needs and in line with current policies. It said that any changes to the mechanism would first require a detailed study involving various stakeholders, but would also require a period of time to finalise.
This follows on transport minister Anthony Loke’s statement that there was a need to conduct a comprehensive review on the road tax structure, but any revision of the current rates for ICE vehicles is unlikely to happen. It does however plan to re-examine the electric vehicle (EV) road tax structure.
