Digital road tax, licence: Benefits tech savvy, trouble for tech shabby?

SHAH ALAM - The Transport Ministry announcement today of the transition from physical to digital driving documents has raised concern among road users of the dichotomy of its consequences towards the tech savvy and the tech shabby.

Nursyarafana Othman, 23, is one of those who had noticed the unequal aftermath of the reform. She said, "In my opinion, this reform will have good and bad impact towards different groups in Malaysia.

"On the bright side, it will be a transition that is easy for the youth and tech savvy. It saves time and trouble." she said.

Completing her double-edged perspective, Nursyarafana continued touched the other side of the population. She said, "On the flip side, elders, the poor, the tech shabby will get left behind with trouble due to their lack of skills." Leaning more towards to the good picture of the recent implementation, Roslina Muda, 60, expressed her support for it on certain terms and conditions. She said, "If research on the system had been carried out by related parties on the pros exceed the cons, I support it.

"If the system is used in developed countries such as Singapore, USA, Europe, Japan, then it makes sense for Malaysia to also do the same. If digitalisation can reduce time consumption, cost and bureaucratic hassle, then kudos to the new government and ministers, the concerned, proactive Anthony Loke for improving the Road Transport Department (RTD) service." she explained her stance.

Also seeing the new change positively was Muhammad Aliff Hanif Mohd Ropi, 24. He said, "In my opinion, this should be received well by the people, and it was actually delayed for an extended period of time. Other countries have implemented it for ages." For him, what needs to be paid attention to is its execution. He said, "As reported by media, it is still at an early stage.

"When it comes to digitalisation, there's a lot to deal with, problems like overloaded servers and all. As RTD announced that physical documents are no longer necessary, the public will just accept it as it is without thinking thoroughly about the possible problems with the system," he said.

Aliff pointed out a possible solution which can be seen in other countries that had implemented similar systems. He said, "One way to deal with it is as in the US, they still have an online registry of drivers licence, but drivers still carry their hard copy.

"Digital licence is a good idea to make it easier for RTD to detect fake licences. Road tax and licences can be counterfeited, but not online." he commended the digitalisation effort.

In conclusion, the 24-yeor-old found it as a good thing which should be encouraged. He said, "It just needs to be followed up with adequate funding and maintenance to prevent problems in the future."