WITH the Budi Madani RON95 (Budi95) price at RM1.99 per litre set to begin on Sept 30, the programme may trigger a fresh wave of law-abiding culture among road users and a new dilemma regarding vehicle ownership.
Many are unaware of the implications of the Budi95 programme for those without a valid driving or riding licence.
Three groups that will definitely experience headaches and anxiety next week:
- Owners of private vehicles without a riding or driving licence;
- Drivers or riders of motor vehicles who have not renewed their expired driving licences for more than three years; and
- Errant motor vehicle drivers or riders who never sat for any driving test and never had a driving or riding licenc
It has been a decades-long practice in the absence of regulations on vehicle ownership that individuals without a driving or riding licence are allowed to purchase a private car or motorcycle from a car/motorcycle dealer.
Suppose a person without a driving licence wants to buy an ‘underbone’ motorcycle under 250cc or popularly known as a ‘kapcai’ motorcycle, in cash or apply for a loan from a ‘riba’ institution (bank) or credit company—there’s no requirement for the buyer to produce a riding or driving licence.
The practice of allowing anyone without a driving licence to own a private sedan, hatchback, electric vehicles, MPV, SUV, pickup truck and 4-wheel drive has been the norm for the longest time in Malaysia.
Nationwide reality
This often occurred in small towns, rural areas and plantations where parents or senior citizens purchase motorcycles for their children and underage teenagers, while the parents without a driver’s licence give the green light to their children as young as 12 years old to ride their newly purchased vehicles every day.
It is plain to see that at least two generations of road users, senior citizens and children, are without driving licences and many kids, including the underage teenagers commuting to schools and riding around the township on motorcycles.
As a result, based on the annual road crash statistics by Bukit Aman Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department (JSPT), thousands of children and underage teenagers have perished due to motorcycle riding over the years.
In fact, the practice of not renewing road tax and insurance has become a common thing in various tenets of society due to the lax level of enforcement.
This can be confirmed through data from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) over the past seven years, which indicated a significant discrepancy between the number of private vehicle purchases and road tax renewals over a period of time.
It is also not a big secret that many owners of luxury vehicles, including high-powered motorcycles, have never had a valid driving licence.
This situation escalated when the public took for granted the obligation to renew road tax and insurance in the wake of the JPJ and the Ministry of Transport digitalisation era, without the need for physical new road tax stickers and displaying them on the front windscreen.
The recent statement by JPJ that there are 2.3 million inactive driving licence holders throughout the country confirms the notion of the public’s stubbornness in renewing expired driving licences and storing a digital copy of driving licence on smartphones via the MyJPJ application.
With Budi95 set to embark at the end of this month, this will directly and indirectly force errant road users without active licences for more than three years to re-sit the driving licence test.
If the new era of petrol subsidy rationalisation runs smoothly in line with the robust JPJ database in the next 24 months, we can expect ripple effects against stubborn groups including the T15 category, who will be forced to ensure that their driving licences and road taxes are valid.
Moreover, if the government is smart enough to capitalise on the Budi95 rollout in tandem with JPJ and police data of the new KEJARA rollout soon, Budi95 can trigger the public rush to clear half a billion ringgit worth of outstanding traffic summonses before the rakyat can activate their driving licences to ensure they qualify and enjoy the lower price of RON95 petrol.
Finally, Budi95 is seen as a head start for the government to draft a new law to ensure anyone who wants to own a motorised vehicle must have a valid driving or riding licence. ‒ Sept 25, 2025
Shahrim Tamrin is a road safety and sustainable transport activist and a former board member of the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS).
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: Motorist.my
