Merdeka Day celebrations in Putrajaya. Also present are Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim (left) and Datuk Shaharuddin
Khalid (right). PHOTO: BERNAMA
PUTRAJAYA: The Road Transport Department (RTD) will open the bidding for the special “Malaysia” series of vehicle registration numbers from July 2 to 16, in conjunction with the 61st Merdeka Day celebrations, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
He said the results of the biddings for the plate numbers from Malaysia 1 to Malaysia 9999 would be announced on August 23. Loke said the biddings would be open to everyone, including ministers, except Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who would be offered the special plate number of “Malaysia 2020”.
“Our objective is to increase the government’s income. So, there will be no number reserved for anyone (including ministers), anyone can bid for them. There is no minimum bid,” he told a press conference here yesterday. The minister said going by the sales of the V and F series of plate numbers, the government expected to generate more than RM22 million from the bids for the “Malaysia” numbers. Loke said the V and F series had recorded sales of RM22.48 million and RM17.55 million respectively, with the highest bid at RM989,780 for V1 and RM836,660 for F1.
Loke said the biddings for the Malaysia series could be made at any state RTD office. In line with the decision made by the Cabinet during its meeting last Wednesday, he said the ministry would also expand the special plate number programme to the states, with each having their own series of special plate numbers, starting with “Perlis”, soon.
He also said the ministry was also in the midst of studying the proposal to introduce personalised plate numbers, including using a person’s name, in order to generate more income for the government. “(If implemented) the public can put their own names, such as Anthony, John, Ali or Mahathir or even Najib. Anyone can opt for these personalised numbers,” he said. However, Loke said the government would stop allowing non-governmental organisations to open the bidding for special registration numbers as the revenue could not be channelled to the government.
“The highest recorded bid for a vehicle registration number was for “Patriot 1” which was sold at a price of RM1.3 million. Unfortunately, it was offered by an NGO and the profits did not go into the government fund,” he added.
