PASIR MAS: The National Security Council has directed the Road Transport Department to temporarily suspend the issuance of the International Circulation Permit to all private vans ferrying tourists from Thailand to Malaysia.
NSC Secretary Datuk Seri Alias Ahmad said the directive, which was with immediate effect, was made after private van operators were found to have misused their ICPs, besides failing to register their vehicles as commercial or tour vans.
He said NSC also received complaints from local taxi operators claiming that the unregistered private vans from Thailand, which had been transporting Thai passengers to Johor Baharu and Putrajaya illegally, had affected their income.
He said this to reporters after chairing a security meeting at the Rantau Panjang Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex, here yesterday.
Alias said NSC also found that seating in the vehicles had also been modified from five seats to 12 seats. He said the the permit would be temporarily suspended until new regulations were introduced.
The private vans, he said, should only be transporting passengers up to the border entrance such as Rantau Panjang in Kelantan; Pengkalan Kubor, Tumpat; and Bukit Bunga, Tanah Merah. — Bernama