[Watch] Two Malaysian Men Fined In Thailand For Not Having Physical Driver’s License

The incident occurred a few days ago when the men were stopped by police while riding a motorcycle.

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Two Malaysian men were recently fined in Thailand for failing to produce their physical driving license.

They used the Land Transport Department (JPJ) mobile app to show their electronic driving licenses but to no avail.

The incident occurred a few days ago when the men were stopped by police while riding a motorcycle around Phuket.

And lepastu kalau bawa kenderaan ke Thailand, polis sana mintak kita fizikal kad, kalau takde boleh kena saman

Puas aku explain cakap malaysia dah tak pakai physical card, dia kata tak boleh! End up aku dgn @iqbalasyrafff kena saman jugak 😂 https://t.co/rLBuZSSRsZ pic.twitter.com/2BcCQjY7q8
— acapkay (@acapkay) August 3, 2023

A Twitter user named @acapkay posted his experience on social media and uploaded a video that showed law enforcement officers in Thailand asking them for their physical driver’s licenses.

The issue of differing regulations across countries

When the men tried to explain that Malaysia no longer uses physical driving licenses, the officers still insisted on issuing a fine.

If you’re driving in Thailand, the police there will ask you for a physical driver’s license, and if you can’t produce it, you could be fined. I tried very hard to explain to them that Malaysia no longer uses physical driving licenses. He still said no, and finally, I got a ticket with Iqbal (his friend).
@acapkay explaining how he and his friend were left with no choice but to pay the fine.

In the video, the law enforcement officers in Thailand could be heard saying, “Don’t you have an original (driver’s license)?.” The victim and his friend tried to explain that Malaysia doesn’t use a physical license since three months ago.

However, law enforcement officers continued to say “no”.

The incident removes all doubt if the electronic driver’s license provided by the JPJ app is recognized in Thailand.

It is understood that Malaysians do not need an international driver’s license to drive in Thailand, and they only need to hold a valid driver’s license issued by JPJ.

The Malaysian government has yet to respond to this incident, but it is hoped that they will take action to ensure that Malaysians are not unfairly penalized while driving in foreign countries.

Oh I don’t look forward to when JPJ or PDRM decides to do a nationwide roadblock exercise or something during peak periods and everyone will be grappling to open the MyJPJ app to retrieve their driving license and car registration info 🙂 https://t.co/vJMpD1uXk9 pic.twitter.com/mSGoGTwExs
— MØhsein 🇲🇾 (@iammohsein) February 10, 2023