The Vehicle Theft Reduction Council of Malaysia (VTREC) together with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has launched its Vehicle Theft Awareness Campaign 2019 at the Bukit Aman police headquarters.

A non-profit joint venture between the General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM), the police and a number of other government and non-government agencies, VTREC aims to raise awareness about the dangers of vehicle theft and how to prevent such occurrences from happening.

According to the organisation, a total of 13340 theft-related insurance claims were made last year, a 29% reduction from 2017. It also said that the figure has seen a 65 percent drop over a period of five years. 743 of such claim cases involved theft of commercial vehicles. 1 761 reports of stolen commercial vehicles were made in 2018. Overall, 35953 thefts were reported in 2018, 15 percent lower than in 2017 and representing a 49 percent reduction in five years. Out of those, 22 vehicles were recovered from other countries, thanks to the efforts of authorities in neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Singapore.

Even with the reduction in number of thefts, it is still a significant number, and a vehicle continues to be reported missing every 40 minutes. To reduce that figure, VTREC is reminding vehicle owners to follow precautionary measures to keep their vehicle safe.

Owners are reminded to keep their vehicles locked and windows closed whenever they are parked, and take their keys with them at all times. They should not leave their vehicles with the engine running. Extra protective measures, such as using a steering lock, are recommended.

Vehicles should also be parked in a legal, well-lit carpark, as over 50 percent of thefts occur in dark and unattended areas. Owners should also refrain from leaving their vehicle registration card in the car itself and their keys lying around in places visible to prying eyes, VTREC says.