Malaysia will have more than 20 million registered vehicles on the road by the year end.
In disclosing this, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the accumulated number of registered vehicles reached over 19 million in 2009.
“Malaysia can be considered as one of the highly-motorised countries, where more than one million (1,017,361) units of new vehicles were registered in 2009 alone.
“This means that every 30 Malaysians, young and old, acquire a new motor vehicle each year,” he said at the opening of the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2010, here, today.
KLIMS 2010 which runs from tomorrow until Dec 12, will, among others, feature green technology vehicles, concept cars and production models underlining the pledge made by industry players for a greener and more sustainable motoring future.
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KONG-REGISTERED 2 KUALA LUMPUR
Kong said in order to achieve a sustainable transport sector, incorporating green technology would be a must.
“One key trend is of course sustainability, which is closely linked to green technology and the global movement to protect the environment.”
He said Malaysia had identified green technology and sustainability as significant factors towards economic and social transformation for it to become a developed, high-income economy.
“As we all know, Malaysia has targeted a significant 40 per cent carbon dioxide intensity reduction by 2020.
“Where Malaysia is concerned, the initial allocation of RM1.5 billion through the Green Technology Financing Scheme recently is a strong indication of the government”s seriousness in addressing very real environmental and sustainability concerns,” he said.
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KONG-REGISTERED 3 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR
Meanwhile, he said the total number of motor vehicles involved in road accidents approached 400,000 in 2009 compared with 250,429 in 2000.
He said in 2009, 6,745 Malaysians were killed in traffic accidents and thousands more injured.
“The loss of lives due to road accidents has cost a minimum loss of RM1.9 billion to the nation.
“Thus, vehicle occupant protection has been the key element in making the system sustainable, so that if collisions are going to take place, injuries should be mitigated or even prevented,” he said.
— BERNAMA
