10 – 15 years ago, transfer of car ownership, was a simple and easy matter. All one had to do was, to sign the M.V.3 and M.V.4 forms and obtain the “seller” and “buyer” identity cards. Obviously you will have to get hold of the vehicle “registration card” too.

Then all a new owner had to do was to write in his name, address and I.C number into the registration card manually himself. Hand the above particulars himself or through a third person, a “runner” perhaps to the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (J.P.J.) office to do stamped. A fee of no more than RM10 was required.

At the transfer section of the Road Transport Department, the above documents will be checked by the counter clerk. If everything was found to be in order, the clerk would attest that everything was correct. A J.P.J. rubber stamp would finally be chopped onto a circular spot. Finally the date of transaction would be entered there in. That’s how simple transfer of vehicle was done way back in the 1960’s or 1970’s.

However, if you happen to purchase a second hand vehicle today which had finance loans, then you would entail some encumberances. You will then have to get a “release letter” from the bank or finance company before a transfer can be done. According to the J.P.J regulations then prevailing, a release letter was necessary before an ownership transfer can be transacted.

On the 31st of October, 2010, the Minister of Transport, Dato Seri Kong Cho Har, announced in Parliament, that the government or “Cabinet” had agreed, infact “approved” the e-Interim Transfer. It also said the Federation of Used Cars Dealers Association had also agreed to it.

Dato Kong also said, “We are confident that the issue will be resolved once and for all when the system was implemented.” In addition, Dato Kong also reiterated, the e-Interim Transfer transaction will be conducted on line and the cost would only be RM10, instead of RM100 currently.

For readers’ information, allow me to relate to you how a transfer of ownership is done currently by the Road Transport Department. It was reported by the Transport Minister, Dato Kong, used cars dealer only changed the ownership of a vehicle, after a new buyer has taken over the car. Because of this, original owners were still issued “saman ekors” or “fines” even after the vehicle had been sold.

My Experience With My Old Jalopy

I once owned a green coloured second hand Volkswagen 1200c.c. car in the 1970’s. I still recall the vehicle’s registration number even. It was BH 7225 if I’m not mistaken. The car was already sold off years ago.

One day, surprisingly, we (my wife and I) received a lawyer’s letter informing us that we were being sued by a motorcycle rider. The bike rider had claimed that we were involved in an accident with him in Simpang Empat in Jalan Telok Pulai, Klang.

The “statement of claim”, by the solicitors of the above said motorcycle, that amongst others, informed us that a claim of some RM10,000 for damages and injuries were being instituted against me and my wife. But the fact was, we had already sold off our jalopy years and years ago.

Consulting my elder brother, we were advised to write a letter to the motor biker’s lawyers informing them of the true situation. My elder brother, although himself not a lawyer, was employed, since the age of 17 or 18 by various solicitors in the Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur. He was infact a very experienced lawyer’s clerk then.

My brother was employed by some well known lawyers and solicitors such as Messrs Bradell and Ramani, and Messrs Ng Aik Teong and Company. He was also employed for quite a long time by Messrs Zain and Company, whom I remember very well had their office situated at Bangunan Dato Zainal.

My brother’s advise that I write to the solicitor who issued me with a lawyer’s letter, infact help diffuse the situation. The solicitors then checked with the finance company, to which this writer had sold the Volkswagen 1200c.c.

I had sold the above vehicle to one finance company in Klang town, Messrs Eng Lee Finance. They had their office of business at the first mile Jalan Meru, Klang. I guess the solicitors for the motorcycle rider, a Malay boy, must surely have checked with the R.M.I.V records and also ascertained with the finance company, that the said vehicle was involved sold years ago.

As such, at the time of the accident, for which I was supposedly faulted, I was not the material owner of the vehicle, and as such, I was not to be blamed for the accident. From then forward, I received no further letters from the solicitors concerned, the case, which was rather worrying, to say the least, ended there.

The above incident, which I had decided to cite for readers’ reading knowledge, would not have occurred if only car dealers and finance companies had done their duty of transferring “ownership” of vehicles immediately.

According to Dato Seri Kong again, used car dealers have cited again and again, costs of changing ownership and having to encourage runners to conduct ownership transfer transactions at the J.P.J. or the Road Transport Department as being reasons behind not changing ownership.

Therefore it augurs well, both for the public as well as the finance companies and banks, that the latest e-Interim Transfer online proposal, which the Road Transport Department would be implementing very, very soon, is indeed to be welcomed warmly by us, the public.

However, one thing which does not appear to be very delightful is, the J.P.J. says this electronic e-Interim Transfer scheme will only come into force only by the end of next year, that is 2011, to make it easier for transfer of ownership and for those who trade in or sell their vehicles to used car dealers.

Here, I would like to inquire, why does it take so long to implement? Couldn’t the implementation of the e-Interim Transfer, be implemented as soon as possible? Something as good as the above proposal should not take too long a time to be put into practice!

The government has infact implemented things rather slowly as can be seen in the proposal to introduce the Automated Enforcement System (A.E.S.) and the latest proposal to introduce third party insurance for vehicles which are over 10 years old.

Make Your Life Easier With MyEG Services

Many Malaysian and non-Malaysian are not aware of the services offered by the MyEG portal. MyEG is a Malaysian company incorporated back in 17 February 2000. The main web site can be found at www.myeg.com.my. There are many services available at MyEG that can make your life easier. Here’s a list of 5 Reasons why you should be using MyEG.

1) Driving License Renewal – This service can be used to renew a driving license. The categories of vehicle driving license available for renewal are:
a) Citizen of Malaysia
b) Permanent Resident of Malaysia
c) Police
d) Army
e) Non Malaysian Resident

The renewal period ranges from 1 to 5 years.

2) Auto Insurance Renewal – In this service, you can renew your auto insurance with RHB Insurance and Etiqa Takaful. The types of auto insurance available are for individual and company ownership.

3) Road Tax Renewal – If you are planning to renew your vehicle road tax, you can use this service available at MyEG. The type of ownership categories available for road tax renewal are:
a) Citizen of Malaysia
b) Police
c) Army
d) Company / Organisation
e) Government
f) Statutory Body
g) Non Malaysia Citizen
h) Permanent Resident of Malaysia

The renewed road tax can be delivered to your home, office or self collection at MyEG e-services centres.

4) L.D.L. (Learner Driver’s License) Application – For those who wants to apply for their LDL, there is also a service available at MyEG. The applicant categories are:
a) Citizen of Malaysia
b) Permanent Resident of Malaysia
c) Police
d) Army
e) Non Malaysian Resident

The license classes available for application are B, B1, B2 and D. The LDL license duration are 3 and 6 months.

5) PDRM Summons Alert – Want to know if your vehicle has been summoned by PDRM (Polis DiRaja Malaysia)? MyEG has setup this service for vehicle owners to check if there are any outstanding summons on their vehicle. All you have to do is enter your personal details inclusive of your vehicle registration number and press the “Confirm” button. If there is a summon on your vehicle, you will see what, where and when the summon was issued. As an added benefit, you can also settle the summon via credit card online transaction on a secured server.

‘Written by Will Yap