by JUNE MOH / pic BERNAMA

THE Road Transport Department (RTD) has launched Digital LKM (e-LKM) and Digital LMM (e-LMM) to replace physical Motor Vehicle Licence (LKM) and Malaysian Driving Licence (LMM).

Transport minister Anthony Loke (picture) said effective today, Malaysian motorists are not required to display physical LKM or road tax on private vehicles and Malaysians are no longer required to carry a physical LMM in line with RTD’s newly-launched digitisation initiative.

“This is the first phase of the digitisation initiative that will be implemented in stages. 

“The first phase involves individual private vehicles including motorcycles taking into account the readiness of the system and public acceptance of its implementation before expanding to the next phases.

“However, it only applies to Malaysian motorists in Malaysia. Malaysians still need to have physical driving licences to drive in countries outside of Malaysia,” said Loke at a press conference in Putrajaya today. 

He said police and enforcement officers are not allowed to issue summons to motorists or private vehicle owners if they do not display physical road tax or do not carry physical LKM and LMM licences. Printed copies or screen grab of road tax and driver’s licences are sufficient.

Additionally, to prevent foul play, enforcement officers have a mobile application that can check the validity of LKM and LMM with vehicle number plates or identification card numbers.

“I urge all Malaysian motorists and vehicle owners to switch to digital platforms for LKM and LMM applications. With digitisation, congestion and long queues at the RTD counters can be reduced and it contributes to boosting productivity and comfort of the people.

“For motorists and vehicle owners who are not ready to switch to digital copies, they can maintain the regular practice of displaying the LKM sticker and using the LMM physical card in the interim period,” he said. 

In line with this initiative, the provisions under Section 20 of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) where “each LKM must be affixed and displayed on the relevant vehicle” will no longer be enforced for the owner category under the first phase. 

This exemption will be gazetted under the authority given to the Minister of Transport under Section 127 (1) (b) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

“I would like to emphasise that enforcement action will always be carried out against any individual who drives a vehicle without having a valid LKM or LMM in accordance with the provisions under subsections 20(1), 90 (1) and 26(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987,” Loke said.

The public is encouraged to register their accounts digitally through the JPJ public portal (https://public.jpj.gov.my/) or the MyJPJ mobile application which can be downloaded from the App Store, Play Store, and Huawei AppGallery. 

With the MyJPJ application, users can check current details and display LKM Digital and LMM Digital when required.

The digitisation initiative is an in-house RTD pilot project, which is set to save RM96 million a year and the cost saved will be used for system upgrades.