KyO's NeWs - BeLaiT VeHicLe OwNeRs JoiN QuEuE FoR NeW LiCenCe PLaTeS

~ BorNeO BuLLeTiN ~

Customers (R) paying and registering for the new licence plates.
Company staff securing the new 'square' licence plate onto the vehicle.

All registered vehicle owners in the country will be required to switch to the new standardised licence plates through authorised companies by the beginning of next year, under the recently announced Land Transport Department (LTD) order.

In response to the order, car owners in the Belait District yesterday came in numbers to an LTD-appointed company to get their new licence plates.

To date, Thien Fang Tyre Company, which is located at Jln Jaya Negara Pandan 4, has received hundreds of orders for the new registration plates.

According to the staff, the company accepts the order after the owner completes and submits the form provided there. Each form is to be attached with relevant documents such as copies of blue cards and identity smart cards. The staff will contact the respective owners after around two weeks, when the plates are ready to be fitted onto the cars.

The company meanwhile advised vehicle owners not to wait until the end of this year to have their plates changed.

A survey at the premise yesterday found that the residents in the district took advantage of the lunch break to place orders for the plate change, bringing with them the necessary documents.

One senior citizen who wished to remain anonymous said the price for the plate change (front and rear) per vehicle was B$38, adding that he found the charge to be rather expensive for him, being a retiree.

Another car owner also found the cost of the service to be on the expensive side, saying he owns more than three cars and that some of his existing plates could still be used. He urged the relevant authorities to review the price since "not all car owners can afford to pay for it."

The new car registration plates are made from aluminum and come with the initials 'JPD' (Jabatan Pengangkutan Darat) which comes in two approved sizes: rectangular (17ins by 4.2ins) and square (9.7ins by 7.4 ins).

Plate colours are the usual white on black, white on green (commercial) and red on white.