He said the decision was made as the new facility in Bukit Beruntung, intended to replace the Wangsa Maju branch, was not yet ready.
He also said that the construction of a new facility by the road transport department (JPJ) at the Wangsa Maju site had yet to go through the awarding process.
“Therefore, the ministry has agreed to allow an extension of operations (for the Wangsa Maju branch) for another year. By next year, the new site should be ready for operations.
“By then, alternative locations will also be available for vehicle inspections, so users will no longer need to visit the Wangsa Maju branch,” he told reporters after inspecting operations at the Wangsa Maju facility.
Last month, it was reported that the ministry had ordered Puspakom to close down its Wangsa Maju centre by June at the latest, amid an anti-graft probe involving staff members.
Puspakom said the closure would allow JPJ to set up a new facility at the same site.
Established in 1995, the Wangsa Maju branch is one of Puspakom’s earliest locations. It has six inspection lanes and a workforce of 37 staff members.
Measures to ease congestion during inspections
Loke also announced several short-term measures to reduce congestion at Puspakom inspection centres, including prohibiting multiple bookings for the same vehicle registration number.
For instance, he said, if a vehicle with the registration number ABC123 books four inspection slots on the same day, only one slot will be allowed.
“This measure is to prevent misuse by middlemen who have been found reselling inspection slots for excessive profits,” he said.
Loke said that Puspakom would also enhance its booking system by freezing the original inspection slot if a reschedule is requested.
“This is to prevent the original slot from being misused or sold to others,” he said.
He added that throughout March, all Puspakom branches with the exception of those in Langkawi and Pekan would operate for 12 hours daily, including Saturdays, to accommodate users ahead of Aidilfitri.
“These measures will increase Puspakom’s daily inspection capacity from 13,500 to 15,500 vehicles,” he said.