The Ministry of Transport has made a major change with regards to road tax (known as Lesen Kenderaan Motor or LKM) and Driving Licenses (Lesen Memandu Malaysia or LMM). Starting today, private motor vehicles will not be required to display their road tax sticker, meaning it’s the beginning of the end for the horrible road tax sticker. Most driving license holders too will not need to have a physical driving license on them.
Instead, Malaysians have the option to simply download the MyJPJ app on iOS, Android or Huawei devices, and then sign in using their MySikap account. All Malaysians can still opt to have physical road tax and driving licenses if they prefer. It should also be noted that the digital driving license is NOT recognised in other countries, so get a physical driving license if you intend to travel.
In fact, having a print out or screenshot of the documents through the app can serve where data is unavailable or where one’s phone battery is flat. JPJ Officers will bear the burden of proof if they suspect one’s documentation is out of order and they are now equipped to check these documents on their smart devices using either the car plate number or the IC number. If you don’t have a smartphone or are apprehensive about digitalization for any reason, then the traditional physical stickers are still available for use.
For now, this only applies to private motor vehicles and those with competent driving licenses, but JPJ aims to make digitalization available to company-registered motor vehicles and other road users in stages. Therefore, those listed in the categories below still have to display their physical road tax and have their physical driving license:
Minister of Transport, YB Anthony Loke Siew Fook made the announcement this morning at a press conference. He said that the move towards digitization will save JPJ tens of millions of Ringgit annually as 80-90% fewer road tax and driving license print outs will be necessary. The savings have been used to fund the development of the MyJPJ app, which was done in-house by JPJ’s IT department. It also directly saves Malaysians time and money, as there is no need to queue at JPJ offices to renew these documents and there is no need to pay delivery fees should road tax be purchased online.
Traffic Police and JPJ officers will still be enforcing the law, so don’t use this as an opportunity to neglect paying for your annual road tax and driving license!
