Just days after the Malaysia-Singapore border reopened, a Singaporean couple entered my country in a Tesla Model 3 SR+ and used the Tesla’s Autopilot autonomous driving assistance system all the way north to Penang.
After the owner uploaded the journey experience to the online social media platform TikTok, it caused a lot of discussion in my country.
After it went viral, the Malaysian police suddenly stated that Malaysia strictly prohibits Tesla’s Autopilot system, and will launch an investigation into the Singapore car owner with both hands off the steering wheel throughout the country.
Local news media quoted the director of the National Police Traffic Investigation and Law Enforcement Division, saying that although the country does not have regulations on automatic driving assistance systems, the actions of the Tesla driver violate the Land Traffic Act 1959.
“The police believe that although there is currently no law in my country that prohibits automatic assisted driving, the system takes away the driver’s attention, but also cannot detect whether there is a driver in the car; the driver may look less at the road, but pay more attention to it. To other irrelevant things, such as the use of smartphones. Therefore, the use of automated driving systems while driving is still prohibited in our country.”