'Gov't lost out on RM100m in revenue from plate number bids under BN'

The government has lost over RM100 million in potential revenue from special vehicle registration number bidding under the previous administration, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.

He said the "leakage" happened when the BN government issued special registration numbers to non-government organisations and companies, which only paid the government RM1 million per series.

"Let's say that every series of special registration numbers collects RM5 million. There had been more than 30 series conducted before this.

"This means there is over RM100 million in leakages in revenue that the government should have been able to collect," he said, adding that the loss in potential revenue was the reason he decided to stop the practice of issuing special registration numbers to non-government bodies.

He said the sale of special registration number can be a revenue stream for the government, and that they plan to conduct much more after this.

"Maybe we will do it every two months," he said.

Over RM1 mil for 'Malaysia 1'

Loke was speaking at a press conference held to announce the results of bids for the 'Malaysia' special registration number series, which the ministry launched in conjunction with the Merdeka month.

The minister said that over the bidding period of two weeks which ended on Aug 15, the ministry received RM13.16 million in revenue from 9,166 tenders.

He said the 'Malaysia 1' number recorded the highest amount collected for a bid on a single plate, at RM1,111,111. The bid was won by Aldi International Sdn Bhd.

When asked on the 'Malaysia 2020' plate, Loke said that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had agreed to have the plate on his official car and that the transfer would take place soon.

The premier's official car's current registration plate is 'Proton 2020'.

The minister added that he hoped Mahathir would bring the car bearing the new registration to this year's National Day celebration.

As for the 'Malaysia 509' registration plate, Loke joked that even he as the transport minister had lost his bid for it.

He said there were a total of 12 bids for 'Malaysia 509', and his bid of RM1,509 was at the 11th place.

The number, which signifies the date May 9 - when Pakatan Harapan won the 14th general election - went to another bidder at the price of RM20,000.

- Mkini