PUTRAJAYA, Sept 4 — Participants of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme and Malaysians with foreign driving licences will be given special approval to convert their licences to a Malaysian one.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the conversion would be granted to those who are eligible, among them individuals who have a valid foreign driving licence.

"Their original driving licence will be converted to a probationary licence (P licence) in Malaysia for a two year probationary period and they must comply with the same rules and regulations observed by Malaysians with P-licences” he told a press conference here today.

It is to ensure that these individuals have the competence to drive and to educate them to comply with all the road rules in Malaysia as other countries will have different driving cultures and rules, especially those who are used to left-hand drives, he said.

For those with driving licences from countries not signatories to any treaty or agreement with Malaysia, Loke said they had to sit for the traffic laws and theory test.

"This is essential to ensure that they understand the laws and road regulations in Malaysia, which may differ from other countries,” he said.

MM2H participants who are no longer in the programme or have breached any of its terms and who have been found to have flouted traffic laws will have their licences revoked.

"We aim to have this policy implemented as early as November, so the JPJ has two months to make all the amendments to the guidelines and to detail any conditions necessary to make it easier for all those who want to access this facility,” Loke said. — Bernama