Digital Roadtax

Malaysia has finally adopted the digital roadtax. I have wished for this for at least 5 years. Thank goodness Minister Anthony Loke has the brains gumption to push this forward. Thank YOU!

Goodbye to the printed roadtax stickers that has been the bane of my existence, for the longest time. It sticks to the windscreen, sometimes damaging the tint, and I always dread having to replace it.

No more! Hurray!

Next improvement, since we have become digitalised:

- Roadblocks may be a thing of the past; existing apps such as MySejahtera (or e-wallets) may be deployed to add on a "saman" feature. Traffic summonses may be auto-deducted from existing balance. Add on the "rayuan" (appeal) button that we may submit with "x" number of says (if we have some valid reason to reduce or zero the saman amount). All applications done online & no more mad rush to pay during discounted periods such as Hari Merdeka, or Hari Polis, or whenever the government deems so.

- Merge the driver's license with the NRIC; again auto-deducted from registered e-wallets for yearly license fee once it expires. Despite the obviousness of having to renew the driver's license annually, I am one of those people who often forget to do it. Months may pass before I realise that I have been driving around without a valid license!

- No more boom gates at the tollhouses; all car owners must link their car plate number to an e-wallet of their choice. Traffic will be smooth and no longer will we be obstructed with car owners with low balance or drained smart tag battery. These e-wallets are to be programmed to auto reload if balance falls below RM20 (for example). Toll fee evaders will be no more too, because any car that passes though the toll gates gets charged.

- While we are at it, why not synchronise the learner driver courses with JPJ and Police database. It'll be very easy to track if the person has had offences during the Probationary period. System will show "temporary suspension" (for example) if there were 'demerit' points recorded.

- Tracking stolen cars may even be quite possible because cameras in the tollhouse or traffic lights or even buildings can communicate and warn each other if the stolen vehicle is seen in their area. Kinda like the doggie network in Disney's 101 Dalmations: they traced the dalmation puppies that were kidnapped by comparing notes and barking their updates throughout London!

HOWEVER, let's not get ahead of ourselves. It has taken this long for the digital roadtax to be implemented. How much longer will it take to implement the above items? Well I hope, in my lifetime.