FMM in The News: BORNEO POST, November 11, 2025
KUCHING (Nov 11): A Joint Logistics Safety and Compliance Council to address overloading issues among transporters and promote better road safety should be set up, proposed the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing (FMM).
Its president Tan Sri Dato Soh Thian Lai said the council should comprise the Ministry of Transport, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research, transporters, cargo owners, and industry representatives.
“The council would serve as a platform for structured engagement between government and industry to coordinate enforcement approaches, review ground challenges, set infrastructure priorities, and guide compliance training and digital monitoring initiatives.
“Such an approach will ensure the government’s safety objectives are achieved without undermining logistics efficiency or industrial competitiveness. When implementation is grounded in consultation and partnership, Malaysia can build a logistics ecosystem that is both safe and sustainable,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The statement was issued in recognition of the Transport Ministry’s commitment to safeguarding lives and preserving road infrastructure through stricter control of overloaded commercial vehicles, with its ongoing special operation by the JPJ until Dec 31 this year.
According to Soh, overloading poses serious safety risks and contributes to road deterioration—increasing maintenance costs for both the public and private sectors.
He said despite this, immediate and extensive enforcement without structured consultation or an appropriate transition period risks major disruption to Malaysia’s supply chain and manufacturing operations.
“The general cargo transport sector has long operated under rate structures, payload capacities, and delivery schedules built around practical efficiency. As such, sudden enforcement without time for adjustment disrupts these arrangements, raises logistics and production costs, and creates ripple effects that ultimately impact manufacturers, exporters, and consumers.
“These pressures are further compounded by the introduction of the six per cent service tax on logistics and transportation services in March 2024, which has increased transport cost at a time when the sector is already adjusting to new compliance requirements,” he said.
Soh further pointed out that Malaysia’s weight and axle load limits under the Road Transport (Weight Restriction) Orders are aligned with international standards.
The issue is not the limits themselves but the system-wide recalibration required to comply, he said.
He said vehicles have been configured and contracts priced for trip-based efficiency and realigning these practices demands coordination among transporters, cargo owners and customers to ensure continuity and cost stability.
“International experience from the European Union, Australia and New Zealand shows that sustainable compliance is best achieved through phased implementation supported by structured engagement, accountability and training.
“These countries combined firm enforcement with weigh-in-motion systems, upgraded infrastructure and clear ‘chain of responsibility’ frameworks to ensure all players in the logistics ecosystem understood and met their obligations before full enforcement took effect,” he said.
Soh said that this is not about opposing compliance but about ensuring practical and sustainable implementation, and that a phased and consultative approach would enable operators and manufacturers to realign contracts, plan fleet upgrades, and manage load distribution without destabilising logistics operations or inflating costs across industries.
Source: https://www.theborneopost.com/2025/11/11/fmm-proposes-joint-safety-compliance-council-to-address-overloading-issues/