In the 1970s, I recall teaching a Mr Lim. What this student’s full name is, I have since forgotten. Mr Lim was then in his forties. In reality, the above student already possessed a driving license.

Through sheer neglect and indifference, Mr Lim’s driving document became null and void. He had permitted it to lapse for more than 3 years. As a result, Lim had to do a retest to get back his driving license.

Mr Lim, I remember was then living next to Pui Ying Primary School along 4th mile, Kapar Road, Klang. Although staying with his wife and children at the above address, Lim worked as a bouncer in a nightclub in Johore Baru, near Singapore. Lim went on to tell me, he used to travel rather frequently to Johore Baru in his red 2000 c.c. Mitsubishi car.

In many of my conversations with Mr Lim, this student of mine told me something which I found hard to believe. Lim said, he could travel from Kuala Lumpur to Johore Baru in less than 2 hours. Taking into consideration the fact that the distance from K.L. to Johore Baru is approximately 250km and that the maximum speed limit of our national expressway is 110km/h, my friend Lim must have been speeding away at speeds of over 180km/h to achieve the above feat.

This student told me a story which I feel should be related to all my blog readers. Once Lim said he left Kuala Lumpur at about 2.00 pm, he was in fact late and in hurry to get to Johore Baru. This time around, Lim was speeding as usual well over 180km/h.

At Nilai, a small town approximately 60 – 70 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur, police personnel manning a road there, were unable to stop Mr Lim who was travelling excessively fast that day. My student had in fact sped past the police, even before they could take out their pens to record his car registration number.

The police in Nilai then radioed their counterparts in Seremban about the speeding red car of Mr Lim. Students who are familiar with Malaysian towns well, should know that Seremban is more or less 120km from Kuala Lumpur.

As the story unfolds, Mr Lim who was travelling very fast that afternoon in excess of no less than 200 km/h. I believe he was once again not stopped by the police authorities at Seremban. The police were becoming rather apprehensive. They now suspected that Lim must be ferrying drugs in his car. If not, why has Lim chosen to go so fast and had refused to stop at police road blocks set up for him thus far?

The police authorities then contacted their counterparts, this time at Gemas to stop Lim. Gemas as far as I’m aware is approximately 150km from Kuala Lumpur. This time around, the police felt that by hook or by crook, my friend Lim had to be stopped at Gemas and at all costs.

A road block was immediately set up at Gemas. I was told the police spread a spikes barrier across the entire road to prevent Mr Lim from getting across the road block laid out.

At Gemas, Lim found the road block and steel spikes barrier too much for him to handle. With pistols drawn, the police stopped Lim’s car and ordered him to disembark. Lim was asked to stand astride, put his hands on his car bonnet while the police frisked him thoroughly.

The police in fact found nothing. Lim was not carrying any drugs whatsoever. Although Lim was speeding away from Kuala Lumpur to Gemas at speeds well over 200 km/h that day, the police at that time did not possess sophisticated ray guns to record the speed at which he was travelling. The police therefore could not cite Lim for the offence of speeding.

Lim was set free. The police had no evidence that my friend, Mr Lim was indeed speeding on that particular day.

However, if the above incident which be felled Lim way back in the 1970s had happened today, the above incident would not have taken place. I will therefore have no opportunity to tell readers about it today.

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It was just a matter of time. What happened recently, was bound to happen. While other countries such as America, Australia, England and even China have introduced the electric car or better known as E.V., into their markets, Malaysia was still lacking far behind.

To date, there are a few companies in Malaysia that have introduced the hybrid cars here. Examples of companies that have done that include Toyota Motors, Ford Motors, and Honda Motors Malaysia. Hybrid cars run on a combination of conventional engines and petrol. Honda’s Insight and Toyota’s Prius are two examples of hybrid cars that have made headway into our Malaysian market.

For a fairly long time now, the Malaysian authorities have been troubled with the problem of global warming. This has led to Proton Malaysia to come up with a range of eco-friendly test vehicles. Two electric vehicles that were introduced into Malaysia recently include the Saga E.V., which is designed for zero CO² emission and the Exora Reev (Range Extended Electric Vehicle). The later is specifically designed to reduce fuel consumption as well as CO² emission.

It should be noted here that the 2 above mentioned cars namely the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev were produced as a result of co-operation between Proton Malaysia and the British company of Fraser Nash Research Limited. Work on the Exora Reev commenced as early as 2004. For the Saga E.V., work on it started approximately in 2008.

A few interesting things about the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev include:-
i. The Saga E.V. has no internal combustion engine.

ii. The Exora Reev has a small engine of 407cc capacity. The Kancil has a 660cc engine.

iii. The Saga E.V. can travel 120km on a full charge.

iv. On the other hand, the Exora Reev is capable of doing 700km on a full charge and a full tank of petrol of 23 litres.

Furthermore, both of the above 2 cars are supplied with Lithium ion batteries. It takes some 6 – 8 hours to charge them. It also uses a normal household 13 amps plug to do the charging. While the Exora Reev is a 7 seater vehicle, the Saga E.V. is said to be a 5 seater sedan. Just like MyVi, Kelissa and Altis.

And now, we arrive at the most important thing regarding the electric vehicles recently introduced into our country. The “price”!

The Exora Reev being a 7 seater is expected to cost anything around RM70,000 and RM100,000. The Saga E.V. is expected to be sold at around RM70,000. It might get cheaper as time goes by.

Without a doubt, both the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev are 30% – 40% more expensive than the current conventional cars. But buyers must remember a few things, they save on fuel and road taxes and are also said to be relatively cheaper to maintain.

A grand total of 9 cars have been handed over to the Government for initial tests. In the meantime, it would take at least 2 years for the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev to be mass produced. In the meantime, the public will have to be patient.

The Ministry of Transport on the other hand has put amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987 on hold. Hybrid cars as well as fully electric cars such as the Exora and Saga E.V. will therefore have to wait a little wee bit longer to know its fate.

Although the 2 models of electric cars namely the Saga E.V. and the Exora Reev are said to be eco-friendly and does not pollute the atmosphere, users in our country, Malaysia should not jump with joy too soon over its introduction. Without a doubt, the price of petrol is currently very high here. That it will go up even higher in the near future is without saying a possibility.

But what Malaysians should be asking is “will electric cars solve our problem?” Electricity bills today represent one of the highest household items most consumers have to pay each and every month. Most households in Malaysia today pay a sum of at least RM150 to RM350 for the use of electricity. Some are said to pay even higher rates. It’s an expensive commodity.

Electric cars as one is aware have to be charged nightly for a span of 6 to 8 hours. Calculate it for a month and you will surely be able to decipher how much your electricity bill will escalate every month.

Therefore, what I like to remind you is, are electric cars going to be an answer to our soaring problem of high fuel prices? Think about it carefully and make your own decision for yourselves.

The second problem which Malaysians should contemplate is this. Most Malaysians live or stay in single or double storey terrace houses. There might be some who are lucky enough to own semi-D, bungalows or bigger houses with gardens and spacious lands around it.

Contemplate for a moment, if you happen to own an electric car in the near future, and you also own a single storey terrace house with a porch, which is only capable of accommodating one single automobile in it, whereas your family owns three to four vehicles, can you envisage the problem you’ll face trying to charge your electric car for a span of 6 – 8 hours every night?

Before concluding this short article on electric cars, permit me to provide you with another hypothesis to ponder about. Assuming that you will be going to another town, and you will be residing in a well known hotel there, your vehicle will normally be parked in the hotel basement car park. And your car needs to be charged for at least 6 – 8 hours for it to be used for your journey back home to Kuala Lumpur the following next day.

Permit me to ask you one pertinent question. How do you then solve your above problem? Unless hotel management and other large organizations prepare themselves to be equipped with 13 amps 3 pin plugs in their basement car parks, without a doubt, we Malaysians will be faced with a rather massive headache on our hands when electric cars come along.

Any new introduction or invention will always have its pros and cons. While feeling elated and excited over the introduction of electric cars into our country, we should as a matter of fact, think about the difficulties and problems that may accompany it.

America for example, has taken steps to build battery charging stations for electric cars all over the country. Petrol stations, service stations, supermarkets and so forth are all being prepared for the day when electric cars will make its appearance there.

It won’t be long before electric cars are introduced on a large scale here. We should be in fact been taking the same concrete steps to meet this problem head along now itself.

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There are many foreigners currently working here in our country. A lot of tourists also visit Malaysia too. Besides that, students from overseas, for example from Taiwan and some African countries also come to our shores to attend higher institutes of learning.

The above group of people, foreigners, tourists and students face a massive problem especially where transport is concerned. Our transport facilities, unlike in Singapore or Hong Kong, can be considered as very poor. It is in fact, nothing to shout about.

Foreigners who come to our country feel, they can overcome their transport woes here in Malaysia should they be allowed to rent vehicles. If they are allowed to own vehicles here, it would be a better solution.

A few years ago, my brother-in-law, Mr Ooi and his wife, Molly visited England. The above couple, rented a large saloon car and went around sight seeing the United Kingdom. It was not only cheap, it was convenient as well.

My son-in-law, Mr. Kin and his wife Swan Nee went round Australia in a large limousine when he visited the continent a few years ago. Kin was in Australia doing his studies at Monash University. He therefore knew Australia rather well.

By giving or quoting examples of tourists renting a car or a limousine in countries that they visited, what am I trying to imply? In fact, it makes it more convenient for tourists or foreigners who are working or visiting a foreign country if they are able to drive themselves there.

But first of all, a foreigner, a tourist, or even students who are in a certain country and intend to drive there, should first of all possess a driving license. Then only are such people mentioned above permitted to rent a car or allowed to own a vehicle there.

People who stay in a particular country for long periods would sometimes like to convert their domestic licenses into licenses of the country where they are residing. Many readers of this blog have from time to time written in to enquire if the above can be done.

As a matter of fact, the Geneva Conference 1949 and 1968, has agreed that member countries accept each other countries licenses for use. As such, Malaysian licenses, normally known as C.D.L. or Competent Driver’s License can be used to drive in a country where they are visiting.

Although domestic licenses are allowed to be used in other countries, nevertheless, it is always better for one to obtain an I.D.L. or an International Driving License before going overseas. This would eliminate a lot of problems.

Not too long ago, the Malaysian authorities have announced that Taiwan and Malaysian authorities have mutually agreed to accept each other’s driving licenses for conversion purposes.

Malaysian authorities say Taiwanese road users can now automatically convert their licenses. Taiwanese license holders can now apply to convert their licenses into Malaysian ones at any Road Transport Department or J.P.J. office.

However, certain procedures have first to be adhered to prior to conversion being allowed. Conversion of Taiwanese licenses can only be allowed after it has been authenticated at the Taipei Economic And Cultural Office in Malaysia, said the Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha in a statement yesterday. Further, the minister added that both countries have agreed on the move to provide greater convenience to Malaysian and Taiwanese drivers.

Up to date, Malaysian and Taiwanese authorities have not been able to come to a resolution for conversion. Two or three things seemed to have blocked the way towards automatic conversion of both our driving licenses prior to this move being made.

One was, while Malaysians drive on the right hand side of the road, as in England and Australia, Taiwanese drivers drive instead on the left, like the Americans. The authorities here in Malaysia feared problems might arise because of this.

Secondly, it should also be borne in mind that the steering wheels for cars used in Malaysia are situated on the right hand side, whereas in Taiwanese cars, the steering is located on the left hand side instead.

Another contention which the Malaysian and Taiwanese counterparts could not agree upon was the standard of tests that were conducted by the two parties which appeared to differ rather distinctly. A great disparity was said to have existed it seems.

Prior to the agreement between Taiwan and Malaysia agreeing to mutually accept each other’s driving licenses, the Road Transport Department has all along been accepting driving licenses of certain countries like England, Australia, and Australia being allowed to convert to Malaysian licenses.

Way back in 2000, I came to know of a Bangladeshi national who successfully succeeded in getting his driving license converted into Malaysian driving license. How delighted the Bangladeshi would have felt.

A neighbour, who lives directly behind my house, a Puan Ah Pang, who is a wan tan mee seller, has a daughter-in-law from Vietnam, who has also successfully managed to get her license converted into Malaysian license.

But it should be reiterated here than not all driving licenses from abroad can be converted into Malaysian driving licenses. The Road Transport Department possesses certain rules and regulations. If you intend to convert your country’s driving license into our license, you are advised to contact our authorities at their headquarters which as you know is located in Putrajaya.

Best of luck to you in your attempts. I am elated to know that your country’s license can be converted into Malaysian licenses!

Still on the topic of conversion of licenses, the United Kingdom allows driving licenses from Singapore to be converted into British license. But unfortunately, Malaysian driving licenses cannot be converted. The reason being, Malaysian licenses are considered to be of an inferior standard. Therefore, a Malaysian who wants to keep on driving in England after 120 days, has to take the necessary steps to secure a British license.

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