KOTA BHARU, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- Registration plate offences topped the list of violations recorded in the Kelantan Road Transport Department’s (JPJ) ongoing Ops Ekstrem, an operation aimed at curbing illegal motorcycle modifications and ensuring compliance with technical and safety requirements.
Kelantan JPJ director Mohd Misuari Abdullah said 1,100 motorcycles were issued with enforcement action during the period, including 266 vehicles seized for various offences involving modifications and technical compliance.
The operation also resulted in 2,248 summonses and 1,016 other notices being issued for various offences, he said.
“Among the main offences detected were 64 cases involving modifications to bodywork and equipment, exhaust systems (187 cases), tyres and rims (87 cases), lighting systems (398 cases), registration plates (947 cases) and 513 other offences,” he told a press conference at the JPJ Panji office here today.
Mohd Misuari said the enforcement operation was not intended to curb the public’s interest or hobby involving motorcycles, but to ensure that modifications did not compromise safety or contravene the law.
“However, the freedom to modify motorcycles is not a freedom without limits. When modifications alter the original specifications, compromise safety features, affect vehicle control or produce excessive noise, it is no longer merely a matter of modification but becomes an issue of legal compliance and road safety,” he said.
Mohd Misuari said JPJ assessed motorcycles comprehensively, including their structure and bodywork, rims and tyres, exhaust systems, lights, handlebars, seats, control and safety components, as well as registration plates.
According to him, enforcement action was based on legal provisions, technical specifications and inspection findings, rather than officers’ perceptions or personal views.
“Excuses such as others do it too, it is common or the workshop installed it are not exemptions from legal action,” he said.
Offenders who carried out extreme modifications could face a fine of up to RM2,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, or both, while their motorcycles could also be seized, depending on the offence and applicable legal provisions, he added.
-- BERNAMA