RTD detects businesses hiring foreigners as commercial drivers

KOTA BARU: The Road Transport Department (RTD) has detected businesses hiring foreigners to drive lorries and buses, as well as Malaysians renting motorcycles to foreigners for profit.

RTD senior enforcement director Datuk Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan said the operators were flouting the law to cut costs and increase profits.

He said foreigners were not eligible to apply for Goods Driving Licence (GDL) or Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licences to drive goods or public service vehicles.

"Business operators should not collude with foreigners by hiring them to drive lorries or buses. They should not compromise safety and the law simply to increase profits," he told reporters yesterday.

Kifli said Malaysians who rented out their vehicles to foreigners, particularly motorcycles, were also contributing to the problem.

"Foreigners without valid documents are not allowed to drive or own vehicles on Malaysian roads. If they cannot legally own or use these vehicles, how can they drive them?

"This happens because Malaysians rent out their vehicles to foreigners. As long as some collude with them, foreigners will continue to use vehicles freely on our roads," he said.

He urged vehicle owners to stop renting out their vehicles to foreigners.

Kifli said the RTD issued 481,119 summonses from 2024 to September this year — 183,300 in 2024, 191,676 in 2025 and 106,143 from January to September this year.

The offences included driving without a Competent Driving Licence (CDL), expired motor vehicle licences (LKM), lack of insurance and other road traffic offences.

He said the department had adopted a stricter approach, with both the foreigner driving the vehicle and its owner being issued summonses.

"Neither the driver nor the vehicle owner will be allowed to settle the compound, and the cases will have to be brought to court," he said.

Kifli said stern action would also be taken against companies that hired foreigners to drive commercial vehicles.

"The lorry or bus driven by a foreigner can be forfeited. This action has been carried out over the past three months as the issue has become increasingly prevalent.

"This is done under the provisions of the Land Public Transport Act (Apad), as it involves commercial vehicles," he said.

For private vehicles, he said most cases were brought to court, while forfeiture proceedings could also be initiated if vehicle owners failed to appear in court.

Under Section 23(2) of the Road Transport Act 1987, a person convicted of an offence can be fined between RM1,000 and RM10,000, or jailed for up to two years, or both.

Kifli said Rohingya were among those most frequently found riding motorcycles, followed by Pakistanis and Indonesians.

For lorries, he said Bangladeshis, Indonesians and Indians were among the foreigners found driving them.

He said motorcycles were commonly rented to foreigners for RM50 to RM200 a month, depending on their condition.

"Three-wheeled motorcycles are particularly common on the East Coast and are usually used to collect discarded or recyclable materials, with many operated by Rohingya citizens," he said.