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Road tax refund: Six-month wait raises questions

A road user questions the lengthy six-month wait and lack of communication for his road tax refund from Malaysia's Road Transport Department

HEBI B/PIXABAY

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Anyone who has gone to the Road Transport Department’s office to get a refund of their cancelled road tax will probably leave with a heavy heart. 

When you sell your vehicle and then cancel the road tax, you may claim a refund for the cancelled period of the road tax. 

However, the form clearly states that you must choose (by ticking the boxes provided) whether you want to claim the refund or not.  

The officer will tell you two upsetting things once he or she has keyed in the application into the system:

  • It will take six months to get your refund
  • You have to keep checking your bank statements

If we are talking of injustices, this is a sure example. 

Why must we wait six months to get a refund of the cancelled portion of the road tax? 

In this digital era, six months is an absurd waiting time for the department to process claims. 

And why must the claimant have to monitor his or her bank statement, not knowing when exactly the refund will be received?

In this highly computerised civil service and private banking sector, is it not the responsibility of Road Transport Department to communicate to the claimant once the refund has been made? Aren’t there after all, systems that can be put in place to automate these simple communication tasks?

Also, why must you have to choose whether you want a refund? It is, after all, your money as a road user. Why should you be asked to state whether you want a refund?

READ MORE:  17 deaths a day! Do something now about Malaysia’s road accidents crisis

This is no small matter. It is unethical, as the amount of money held by the Road Transport Department that belongs to road users could run into the millions, considering the number of vehicles sold in the country in any given year.

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

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Gerry Danen
Gerry Danen
28 Jan 2025 12.46am

As a long-time IT professional, I can guarantee that a notification system in a PHP web app can be written in a few weeks, fully tested.
Not knowing what the JPJ system is written in, it may not be that fast.
I do however agree that it is the JPJ’s responsibility to enact efficient and timely refunds and communicate so.

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