Government to introduce personalised registration system soon, and RM100,000 could be the going rate for the ‘1’ digit.
IF your name is Lionel and you want LIONEL 1 to be the registration plate number for your new car, be prepared to pay between RM60,000 and RM100,000 — all for the sake of style.
Under the personalised plates system to be introduced by the government soon, one will be able to use a combination of letters and digits for the personalised plates but these should not exceed 12 characters.
Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Emran Kadir said the department was fine-tuning an earlier proposal sent to the Transport Ministry on personalised plates.
"It just needs some tweaking. The ministry wanted us to review the rates we are planning to impose," he said without elaborating.
He did not say how soon the system would be implemented but said the department was already working on the proposal.
Emran said the RTD also proposed two sets of plates — one for individuals and the other for corporations.
Corporations would, however, have to pay more as they would have exclusive rights to the registration plate.
Examples are NST, MAXIS, CELCOM and MAYBANK followed by the digits on the registration plate.
He said the rates for individuals would be similar to the bids currently submitted by the people for special number plates .
For example, since people are now prepared to pay an average RM100,000 for the "1" digit registration plate, the personalised plates are also likely to cost that much.
Digits "2" to "9" can cost between RM50,000 and RM80,000, depending on the state where it is issued. Generally, registration plates from Kuala Lumpur (W), Perak (A), Johor (J) and Selangor (B) cost more.
"Since people are prepared to pay as much now, the rates for the personalised plates would be almost similar," said Emran.
The rates are a pittance compared to the RM2.2 million a bidder in the United Kingdom paid for the "M 1" registration plate. It was also a world record for a car registration plate.
Last year, the RTD received RM104 million in revenue from its registration plates tender exercise.
Q: Will the successful bidders be allowed to sell their personalised plates later?
A: This will not be allowed. We do not want to turn it into a business. The successful bidder will only be allowed to transfer it to his spouse, sibling or children. Companies would be allowed to offer the numbers to their directors or employees. For example, as a government servant, my vehicle is owned by SPANCO, the company which manages the government’s vehicle fleet. But since the number on the car belongs to me, I will be entitled to it when I retire.
Also, the successful bidder would be allowed to transfer the personalised plate if he decides to buy a new vehicle under his name. So, these are the exceptions. Commercial transactions will not be allowed.
Q: What is the highest bid ever received by the RTD to date?
A: RM166,100. We received it from a bidder in Johor. The second highest successful bid was RM111,000, also from Johor (see graphics)
Q: Who made the bid and what was the registration plate?
A: I cannot tell you due to security reasons. All I can say is that it was made three years ago and belonged to a member of the royalty.
Q: What are the conditions that come with a successful bid?
A: Obviously, the person with the highest bid gets the registration plate he wants. When submitting the bid, he has to pay a 10 per cent deposit, which is 10 per cent of the price he is prepared to pay. If he is successful but chooses not to take it later, then the 10 per cent is forfeited. It is a straight transaction.
Q: What is the minimum amount for a bid?
A: RM200.
Q: The RTD said it would launch an e-bidding system where people could submit bids on-line. What is the status of this?
A: The problem is that our computer system has been used to the optimum. We cannot do any more additions as the system doesn’t have the capacity for it. So, once the overhaul of the entire ICT system is done, we can bid electronically. The new system should be up in the third quarter of 2008.
Q: The RTD launched the borderless registration system whereby a car buyer in Perlis could apply for a Johor registration plate while still in Kangar if he so desired. Has the system been scrapped?
A: We launched a pilot project in early 2003 in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor where an individual living in Kuala Lumpur could apply for a "B" registration plate without having to go to the Selangor RTD office and vice versa. However the system had to be deferred as it was against the law. The Road Transport Act stipulates that only the state RTD director is empowered to register vehicles within his state. That means the Selangor RTD director can only register vehicles with the "B" plate. Because of this minor glitch we had to put the entire project on hold. But we are fine-tuning the laws and hope to re-introduce the system soon.
Q: Does the RTD have plans to introduce a new vehicle registration system which will allow anyone to say whether it is a private or commercial vehicle, as Singapore has?
A: We have proposed a new system known as the e-plate to the ministry. The vehicles would be identified based on the colour of the number plate. For example, taxis now use white background and black letters for their registration plates. For most other vehicles, it is the other way round.
We had proposed that the job to design a standardised number plate system be given to one or two companies. Everything would be standardised unlike now where you see vehicles having different fonts and plate sizes.
This system has been implemented in Singapore, Thailand and Japan. We want to do likewise here.
(It is learnt that the smart registration number plate system will feature microchips containing information on the vehicles. This will enable enforcement officers to use a scanning device to check if the number plate on a vehicle is genuine or false. These e-plates will be tagged using radio frequency identification technology allowing the vehicle to be easily tracked).
Q: The present registration system can be abused. All one needs to do is unscrew the plates of a car and screw in another. Does the RTD have proposals like making it compulsory for car owners to have their registration plates sandblasted onto their windscreens or imprinted on their chassis?
A: We cannot compel motorists to sandblast their windscreens or side mirrors as this is additional cost. The problem would be solved once the e-plate system is implemented. There are several security features under the e-plate system. One example is that the registration plate of a vehicle cannot be removed or tampered with. It is something like someone trying to remove the road tax from the windscreen. It will surely be damaged and cannot be used elsewhere.
Q: We have tens of thousands of number plates from more than 30 years ago which are no longer in use as the vehicles are no longer in use. Numbers such as A to AY, B to BY, J to JY, P to PY, W to WY, etc. Since these numbers are there but the vehicles aren’t, will the RTD consider re-opening these registration numbers for new vehicles?
A: No, we have never considered this although we have many inactive records. Although the vehicles no longer exist, the registration plates are exclusive to them.
Q: We have cars as old as 30 years on our roads. Do we have plans to scrap vehicles, for example, those which are more than 10 years old, to ensure they are road worthy?
A: There are no such plans.
Q: In many countries, they have laws barring teenage drivers from driving at night. They are also required to drive under the guidance of an experienced driver and are not allowed to carry more than a certain number of passengers. This is because there is a high number of teenagers killed on roads. Since we have a high number of teenage road casualties as well, does the RTD plan a similar move?
A: In Malaysia, anyone who is 16 can apply for a motorcycle licence. A year later, you can sit for a car test. Since we also have a high number of teenage casualties, especially motorcyclists, we have decided to increase the minimum age to apply for a licence to 17. The new drivers are also required to go through a probation (P licence) period and they cannot violate traffic laws during the period. But we can look into the measures adopted by other countries to help save lives.
SOURCE TAKEN FROM NEW STRAIT TIMES
http://http//www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/Frontpage/20060917083651/Article/index_html
IF your name is Lionel and you want LIONEL 1 to be the registration plate number for your new car, be prepared to pay between RM60,000 and RM100,000 — all for the sake of style.
Under the personalised plates system to be introduced by the government soon, one will be able to use a combination of letters and digits for the personalised plates but these should not exceed 12 characters.
Road Transport Department director-general Datuk Emran Kadir said the department was fine-tuning an earlier proposal sent to the Transport Ministry on personalised plates.
"It just needs some tweaking. The ministry wanted us to review the rates we are planning to impose," he said without elaborating.
He did not say how soon the system would be implemented but said the department was already working on the proposal.
Emran said the RTD also proposed two sets of plates — one for individuals and the other for corporations.
Corporations would, however, have to pay more as they would have exclusive rights to the registration plate.
Examples are NST, MAXIS, CELCOM and MAYBANK followed by the digits on the registration plate.
He said the rates for individuals would be similar to the bids currently submitted by the people for special number plates .
For example, since people are now prepared to pay an average RM100,000 for the "1" digit registration plate, the personalised plates are also likely to cost that much.
Digits "2" to "9" can cost between RM50,000 and RM80,000, depending on the state where it is issued. Generally, registration plates from Kuala Lumpur (W), Perak (A), Johor (J) and Selangor (B) cost more.
"Since people are prepared to pay as much now, the rates for the personalised plates would be almost similar," said Emran.
The rates are a pittance compared to the RM2.2 million a bidder in the United Kingdom paid for the "M 1" registration plate. It was also a world record for a car registration plate.
Last year, the RTD received RM104 million in revenue from its registration plates tender exercise.
Q: Will the successful bidders be allowed to sell their personalised plates later?
A: This will not be allowed. We do not want to turn it into a business. The successful bidder will only be allowed to transfer it to his spouse, sibling or children. Companies would be allowed to offer the numbers to their directors or employees. For example, as a government servant, my vehicle is owned by SPANCO, the company which manages the government’s vehicle fleet. But since the number on the car belongs to me, I will be entitled to it when I retire.
Also, the successful bidder would be allowed to transfer the personalised plate if he decides to buy a new vehicle under his name. So, these are the exceptions. Commercial transactions will not be allowed.
Q: What is the highest bid ever received by the RTD to date?
A: RM166,100. We received it from a bidder in Johor. The second highest successful bid was RM111,000, also from Johor (see graphics)
Q: Who made the bid and what was the registration plate?
A: I cannot tell you due to security reasons. All I can say is that it was made three years ago and belonged to a member of the royalty.
Q: What are the conditions that come with a successful bid?
A: Obviously, the person with the highest bid gets the registration plate he wants. When submitting the bid, he has to pay a 10 per cent deposit, which is 10 per cent of the price he is prepared to pay. If he is successful but chooses not to take it later, then the 10 per cent is forfeited. It is a straight transaction.
Q: What is the minimum amount for a bid?
A: RM200.
Q: The RTD said it would launch an e-bidding system where people could submit bids on-line. What is the status of this?
A: The problem is that our computer system has been used to the optimum. We cannot do any more additions as the system doesn’t have the capacity for it. So, once the overhaul of the entire ICT system is done, we can bid electronically. The new system should be up in the third quarter of 2008.
Q: The RTD launched the borderless registration system whereby a car buyer in Perlis could apply for a Johor registration plate while still in Kangar if he so desired. Has the system been scrapped?
A: We launched a pilot project in early 2003 in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor where an individual living in Kuala Lumpur could apply for a "B" registration plate without having to go to the Selangor RTD office and vice versa. However the system had to be deferred as it was against the law. The Road Transport Act stipulates that only the state RTD director is empowered to register vehicles within his state. That means the Selangor RTD director can only register vehicles with the "B" plate. Because of this minor glitch we had to put the entire project on hold. But we are fine-tuning the laws and hope to re-introduce the system soon.
Q: Does the RTD have plans to introduce a new vehicle registration system which will allow anyone to say whether it is a private or commercial vehicle, as Singapore has?
A: We have proposed a new system known as the e-plate to the ministry. The vehicles would be identified based on the colour of the number plate. For example, taxis now use white background and black letters for their registration plates. For most other vehicles, it is the other way round.
We had proposed that the job to design a standardised number plate system be given to one or two companies. Everything would be standardised unlike now where you see vehicles having different fonts and plate sizes.
This system has been implemented in Singapore, Thailand and Japan. We want to do likewise here.
(It is learnt that the smart registration number plate system will feature microchips containing information on the vehicles. This will enable enforcement officers to use a scanning device to check if the number plate on a vehicle is genuine or false. These e-plates will be tagged using radio frequency identification technology allowing the vehicle to be easily tracked).
Q: The present registration system can be abused. All one needs to do is unscrew the plates of a car and screw in another. Does the RTD have proposals like making it compulsory for car owners to have their registration plates sandblasted onto their windscreens or imprinted on their chassis?
A: We cannot compel motorists to sandblast their windscreens or side mirrors as this is additional cost. The problem would be solved once the e-plate system is implemented. There are several security features under the e-plate system. One example is that the registration plate of a vehicle cannot be removed or tampered with. It is something like someone trying to remove the road tax from the windscreen. It will surely be damaged and cannot be used elsewhere.
Q: We have tens of thousands of number plates from more than 30 years ago which are no longer in use as the vehicles are no longer in use. Numbers such as A to AY, B to BY, J to JY, P to PY, W to WY, etc. Since these numbers are there but the vehicles aren’t, will the RTD consider re-opening these registration numbers for new vehicles?
A: No, we have never considered this although we have many inactive records. Although the vehicles no longer exist, the registration plates are exclusive to them.
Q: We have cars as old as 30 years on our roads. Do we have plans to scrap vehicles, for example, those which are more than 10 years old, to ensure they are road worthy?
A: There are no such plans.
Q: In many countries, they have laws barring teenage drivers from driving at night. They are also required to drive under the guidance of an experienced driver and are not allowed to carry more than a certain number of passengers. This is because there is a high number of teenagers killed on roads. Since we have a high number of teenage road casualties as well, does the RTD plan a similar move?
A: In Malaysia, anyone who is 16 can apply for a motorcycle licence. A year later, you can sit for a car test. Since we also have a high number of teenage casualties, especially motorcyclists, we have decided to increase the minimum age to apply for a licence to 17. The new drivers are also required to go through a probation (P licence) period and they cannot violate traffic laws during the period. But we can look into the measures adopted by other countries to help save lives.
SOURCE TAKEN FROM NEW STRAIT TIMES
http://http//www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Sunday/Frontpage/20060917083651/Article/index_html
