RTD to open bidding for special 'Malaysia' plate numbers next month (Updated)

PUTRAJAYA: A new special series of vehicle registration "Malaysia" will be introduced in conjunction with Independence Day celebration.
In making the announcement, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said biddings for these registration plates will be opened from July 2-16 and results will be announced on Aug 23.
He said this special series involves 10,000 registration numbers from Malaysia 1 to Malaysia 9999.
Loke said the bidding process will follow the Road Transport Department's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
He said this move is expected to raise more than RM22 million in revenue for the government.
Noting that the move to give special number plates to NGOs has been stopped since he took office, Loke said there will no number plate registration reserved for anyone, including Cabinet ministers and all would have to bid for it.
"The only exception is the 'Malaysia 2020' registration plate, which is reserved for the prime minister if he wants," he said, adding that this is because Vision 2020 was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's aspiration and brainchild.
The new series vehicle registration was presented to the Cabinet last week.
"The limited edition series is to cultivate the spirit of love for the country in line with the theme 'Sayangi Malaysiaku' announced by PM," he said.
Following this, Loke said there will also be registration plates of the states like Selangor, Penang and so on.
"We will see how to go about it, but after this number plate bidding is done, we should be able to start the state ones in September or October," he said.
As of now, the highest bid for a number plate was RM989,780 for the V1 registration plate.
Meanwhile the highest price paid for a number plate overall was RM1.3 million for the Patriot 1 number plate, but the proceeds went to the Patriot Foundation and not the government.