Personal Plate
'1’ can cost you RM80,000

2009/11/22

By Arman Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR: Fancy owning a personalised car number plate? ARMAND 1 or AHBENG 007? Motorists will soon be able to bid for vehicle registration plates with letters, word or numbers of their choice. Vehicle owners may also be able to buy a range of numbers such as BUKHARI 1 to 200.

However, according to sources, such personalised plates would be expensive, and certain numbers may cost hundreds of thousands of ringgit.

Road Transport Department director- general Datuk Solah Mat Hassan said the personalised vehicle plates service would be made available to the public once the RTD computer system is upgraded.

“We should be able to provide this service about six months after the new system is installed.” Solah said the current computer system is not able to recognise the longer series of letters that would be used in the personalised plates.

There is already a big demand for special numbers that the RTD issues through public tenders.

The introduction of the new personalised plates may affect the value of the current number plates, although Solah declined to comment on the issue.

Revenue from the sale of the special number plates has skyrocketed from RM36 million in 1999 to RM141 million last year.

The sale of these plates is now the second highest source of revenue for the RTD.

Road tax was the highest source of revenue for the department last year at RM1.8 billion of the RM2.64 billion collected.

Revenue from the sale of special number plates is equivalent to 35 per cent of the RTD’s operating and development costs each year. Money collected from the sale of the plates goes to the government instead of the RTD.

All special registration numbers are sold through public tender.

The highest price paid for a number was RM200,900 in 2006 for the number TAN 1.

Other numbers fetching high prices include JJJ 1 which went for RM140,000, and WMW 1 at RM104,500. According to Solah, the value of number plates differed from state to state.

“For example, the number 1 in Kuala Lumpur goes for between RM60,000 and RM80,000 while the same number in Malacca would go for RM35,000 to RM45,000.” The digit 1 is always the highest priced number in any state, followed by the digits 2, 3 and 8.

Double digit numbers, such as 11, 22, 33 and 88 sell for between RM5,000 and RM15,000 each.

Over the years, some other numbers have been highly sought after because they resemble names, professions and likeable words.

Among them are RA 21 (Razi), RA 15 (Rais), DAV 10 (David), AFR 17 (Afrit), TAN14 (Tania), MAN 15 (Manis), JEL 1 (Jeli), DAN 1 (Dani), NAD 14 (Nadia), MAF 14 (Mafia), JED 1 (Jedi), DR 6161 (Dr Gigi) and DU 17 (Duit).

Solah said the RTD had issued special numbers to local car and motorcycle manufacturers in the past and for special events.

These include the series Proton, Perodua, Persona, Waja and Kriss as well as the series XIIINAM, XI ASEAN and XXX IDB and X OIC.

However, the issuance of these special series has been discontinued.

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Reader's Comments

(Latest Comments Displayed First)

asalada:

it is ok but no middlemen please.

Ponn Arumugam:

Since 2nd to road tax, in money wise,the billionaires, the millionaires go for 'their' choice number plate - why wait scoop up RM

Concerned:

Bad move!! At present, there are so many stolen cars on the road that are using false number plates and are moving around being undetected. People who use their own personal number plates will be accused if their number plate is used for a theft as it will indicate their personalised plates that others don't own. It will also deter the cause of corruption that the Goverment is trying so hard to fight against. People will at all cause try to bribe to get their way. But most of all worrying is the fact that at present, the crime rate is so high and people who uses this personalised number plates are not only showing that the are well to do but encouraging themselves to be a liable victim for a robbery. So my fellow friends out there who are planning to pay so much for a personalised number plate, please be ready to spend some extras on safeguarding not only your property, car, yourself but also your family especially your kids who will be exposed to the everyday dangers of kidnapping for ransom. Good Luck!!

Rick:

Isn't it sad when racial issues have to be brought into a discussion like this? All of us, regardless of race, do have a tendency to do something foolish in our lifetime, don't we? To the individual who wrote about a foolish particular race need to grow up and have a reality check! Live and let live and respect each other as much as we want others to respect us.

FenceSitter:

If it is implemented correctly with transparency, why not? It adds to the gov't coffers financially, does it not? However I do hope that JPJ ban agents/ middlemen as it is prone and will be abused by them.

SM:

Motorists in the USA are allowed to have personalized number plates for decades and I don't see why not, if money is of no object.
However I see a potential concern here. I've actually seen "JED 1" on the road (can't remember the make of the vehicle), but the owner arranged the letters closely so that it reads as "JEDI" and not "JED 1".
Many other motorists with fancy numbers also do this although they know it's against JPJ's regulations, eg. number "1" is purposely made to look like the letter "I", "4" is shaped like the letter "A", "5" is shaped like the letter "S" and worse still, the numbers "11" and "111" are spaced so closely to look like the Roman numbers 2 and 3 respectively.
So, how does one differentiate between the original vehicle with "JED1" and another with the personalized "JEDI"? Or "MAF14" vs "MAFIA"?

Hamilton Bacon:

Hey, if you can afford it, why not? But only for those who can afford it.

max:

Pity the foolish chinaman who is stupid enough to be conned into paying through the nose for these numbers!!

Jeffrey:

Its not going to be feasible and this is another way just trying to rip consumers money

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Personal Plate '1’ can cost you RM80,000

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Reader's Comments

Personal Plate
'1’ can cost you RM80,000