KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are divided over the government's move to do away with physical copies of motor vehicle licences, commonly referred to as the road tax, and driving licences.
Some said the move to make digital copies of the documents available on the Road Transport Department's portal and MyJPJ app made them more at ease of being wallet-free, as the electronic copies would be accepted by enforcement personnel.
Others cautioned that dependence on digital services might have adverse effects.
Nurnadiah Zaini, 27, praised the Transport Ministry's initiative as it was convenient to access digital licences on smartphones rather than carrying bulky wallets.
"In light of the broad use of smartphones, people can simply access their driving and vehicle licence through the RTD's public portal or the MyJPJ application from a smartphone.
"When a driver is stopped by police at night without a physical driving licence, a digital licence can be used as proof of identity and free the driver from getting fined or summoned."
However, she said people should still carry the physical documents, as the authorities might ask for them.
In the first phase of RTD's push for digitisation, only private vehicle owners are exempt from carrying physical copies of their documents.
Commercial drivers still need to display their road tax and carry their physical licences.
But lorry driver Joehan Rusadi still appreciated the convenience of accessing his licence with the swipe of a finger on the screen of his electronic device.
"It's easy to access my driver's licence electronically on my smartphone at any time, especially when I'm in a rush and I've forgotten my wallet or my physical licence" he told the New Strait Times.
Bus driver Abdul Haris Danial, 53, said a digital licence made sense as it made it easier for people to access it at any time.
However, not everyone is keen on switching to electronic documents.
Motorcyclist Kahar Sulaiman, 53, said digital licences had their advantages, but felt that physical copies were more efficient.
"Smartphones have limited battery life, and sometimes the devices fail just when we need them most.
"I prefer to have the physical copy since it's lightweight and does not burden me much."
Kahar said digital licences could be used when the physical copy was lost or damaged.
The New Straits Times went to the ground to get responses from motorists to see if they would opt for the digital or physical copy of these licenses.
Starting today, private vehicle owners will no longer need to display their Malaysian vehicle licence (commonly known as road tax) on the windscreen or carry a physical copy of their driving licence.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said this was because the two would be made available in a digital version via the RTD public portal or mobile application MyJPJ which can be downloaded from the App Store, Play Store or Huawei App Gallery.
