Following the announcement by the Transport Minister that drivers and motorcyclists will no longer have to display the roadtax sticker on the windscreen or carry a physical driving licence, there were many questions which popped up on social media. The minister and his team must have looked through them and decided to promptly provide answers and clarification via social media channels last night as well.
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For years, motorists have complained about the poor quality of the roadtax stickers on the windscreen peeling off or curling, and at one stage, the print even faded. Past Transport Ministers were aware of the matter but never seemed to be able to get it resolved.
Now the new Transport Minister has done it and his solution is very straightforward – don’t use a sticker any longer! Perhaps, in the past, the authorities were stuck with the thinking that the roadtax sticker must be displayed for checking but this is the age of digitisation and there are electronic solutions that do not require a sticker.
The announcement was made today by the Transport Minister who also said that it will be with immediate effect (from February 10, 2023). While there is a law under Section 20 of the Road Transport Act which requires a roadtax sticker to be shown, this will no longer be enforced. Perhaps an amendment will be made in due course to the regulation.
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Post offices around the country have suspended services for the renewal of Motor Vehicle Licenses (road tax) for private vehicles. Pos Malaysia said this suspension will be in effect from today until March 31, 2021, following the directive issued by the Road Transport Department (JPJ).
However, it will still be possible to renew driving licences and obtain vehicle insurance coverage at post office counters throughout the country.
The suspension should not be a problem as the Transport Ministry has said that roadtax and also driving licence renewals need not be done while the Movement Control Order is in effect and until March 31, 2021. The renewals must be done within 30 days after the deferment period, which means by the end of April 2021.
While the roadtax need not be renewed until the end of April 2021, the vehicle must have valid insurance coverage. This is important for the protection of all road-users, besides being a legal requirement. The e-note from the insurance company should be kept with the vehicle for inspection by JPJ or police when requested.
Penang Bridge situation
Meanwhile, PLUS Malaysia assures motorists that the Penang Bridge between the island and Butterworth is safe for use. The assurance comes following a TNB cable fire incident under the bridge yesterday. The fire was extinguished by 7.30 pm last night and there were no injuries arising from the incident. A second fire which occurred this morning at the same location was also extinguished.
To facilitate investigations, PLUS says that the right lanes on both sides will remain closed for a few days at the fire incident location which is at Km 3.2. It is possible that repair work could take up to 3 months, depending on the investigations.
During the period of repair, efforts will be made to minimise traffic disruption, and work might only be carried out at night. In the meantime, PLUS encourages all road-users to cross at the Jambatan Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah (Second Penang Bridge) to reduce congestion caused by lane closures. The second crossing is located about 30 kms south of the Penang Bridge.
For real time Penang Bridge traffic updates and information, use the PLUS app which has a convenient Chatbot called PUTRI (PLUS Unique Texting Realtime Interface) available 24 hours a day.
Commercial vehicle operators will soon be able to renew their roadtax at 54 PUSPAKOM inspection centres nationwide. The renewal is available for light commercial vehicles with a maximum permissible laden weight (BDM) of 7,500 kgs or less.
The additional service will be implemented at the inspection centres in stages over the next three months, with the Wangsa Maju inspection centre being the first from yesterday,
According to PUSPAKOM’s CEO, Shukor Ismail, offering the new service is part of the company’s effort towards making PUSPAKOM a One-stop centre for the convenience of customers and the public. “We aim to offer services to deal with vehicle-related matters besides vehicle inspections. Currently, PUSPAKOM centres also provide vehicle insurance renewal services and with the roadtax renewal available, customers have more locations to get their roadtax renewed,” he said.
“Implementation of this initiative will enhance the level of service related to government services, especially vehicle inspection, to meet current customer demands that require efficient, fast and efficient service provision,” he added.
PUSPAKOM is also considering extending the roadtax renewal service to privately registered passenger vehicles later on.
For more information, the public can call PUSPAKOM at 1-800-88-6927, send email to customerservice@puspakom.com.my, visit their official Facebook Page or website at www.puspakom. com.my.
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