PETALING JAYA: Some netizens have poured cold water on the government’s move to digitise motor vehicle licences – commonly referred to as road tax – and driving licences, expressing various concerns over the decision.
Taking to Facebook, Muhamad Ibrahim questioned what a driver would have to do if there was a roadblock in a rural area with no access to the internet.
“How are you going to show your road tax and licence then? Or are you telling me that every area in Malaysia, including rural areas, has fast internet connection for all telcos?
“This is not about politics, it’s about saving my money from an incomplete law,” he said.
Melvin Goh quipped that users could screenshot the QR code in the road transport department’s (JPJ) MyJPJ phone application and stick it on where their motor vehicle licences used to be.
Many netizens were also worried that the digital licences will lead to longer waits at roadblocks, with road users forced to take time to open up their apps to show to the police.
“Hopefully, the digital road tax will be stored in the app without needing access to the internet after using it for the first time.
“Imagine facing a roadblock in a place without data connectivity and you can’t retrieve your road tax from the app,” said Facebook user Eleazar Joey.
Andy Bandara agreed, saying this was “not a smart move”, and that the onus should be on the authorities to retrieve the information of road users on their system. He said this was the practice in the UK and US.
“Have some sort of device to ‘grab’ number plates where all the information is quickly displayed, including outstanding summonses, criminal records, and traffic violations. This is going to be one messy adaptation, not an improvement.”
Facebook user Shaza Shaharom also questioned what the procedure would be for people driving their family member’s car.
Transport minister Loke Siew Fook had announced that the public may register JPJ accounts at https://public.jpj.gov.my/ or the MyJPJ app to access their digital motor vehicle licences and driving licences.
Some netizens also took to Twitter after experiencing issues with the MyJPJ app, saying they could not even get past the login page.
Many netizens said the app’s Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) function, for the registration of new accounts, was not working and that they were still waiting for the TAC emails.
Others urged the app’s developer to sort out the issues immediately.
