JPJ Slaps ‘WANI’ Owner With Summons, Fancy Plates Are Not Uncommon

A woman was fined because the vehicle she was driving used a license plate that did not comply with specifications.

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It cannot be denied that many individuals in Malaysia enjoy modifying their vehicles to make them look more attractive or “sporty.”

However, not all modifications are permitted by the Road Transport Department (JPJ) due to safety factors and other considerations.

One of the modifications deemed an offense is altering vehicle registration plates to appear “fancy.”

Recently, the Kedah JPJ revealed that a woman was fined because the vehicle she was driving used a license plate that did not comply with specifications and resembled her name, “WANI.”

ABAM JPJ SAMAN ADEK WANI Kota Setar, 20 Januari 2025 – Pasukan Aman 1 dalam rondaan rutin penguatkuasaan di KM49.5…
Posted by JPJ Negeri KEDAH on Monday, January 20, 2025

In a post uploaded to its official Facebook page, the woman was stopped during a routine enforcement patrol by the Aman 1 Team from Kedah JPJ’s Enforcement Division at KM49.5 of the North-South Expressway, northbound.

The female driver of the Honda City admitted that the license plate was a gift from her husband, with the font used to resemble her name.

Under Rule 6(7) of the Motor Vehicles (Registration & Licensing) Rules 1959, anyone found guilty can be fined up to RM300.

As a result, enforcement officers issued a notice and a vehicle inspection order under Section 61(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

“Kedah JPJ emphasizes that action will be taken against any individual found violating road regulations, regardless of the reasons or intentions behind the offense,” it stated.

Fancy Schmancy

Malaysia does not offer personalised license plates like the United States.

Over in the States, they are known as “vanity plates”.

Vehicle owners are allowed to choose custom letter and number combinations to reflect what they want, such as their profession or interest. However, there are still regulations they need to comply with.

The extent of a vanity plate in Malaysia are specialised plates usually commissioned by an organisation, such as 1M4U or by the government to mark certain events such as Sukom.

This means many Malaysians tend to employ their own creativity by getting a certain combination of the letters and numbers and using unsanctioned fonts on their plates.

One such example is the plate DY 1745 made to look like DYNAS.