KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — The Road Transport Department (RTD) collected a record earning of RM22 million from auctioning the “V” vehicle registration plate, Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi revealed yesterday.
According to the deputy transport minister, the collection was unprecedented as previous auctions have only raised up to RM10 million, spurring the RTD to consider more vanity plates in the future.
“The ministry is surprised with the public’s interest and excitement towards the introduction of new plates for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya effective last June,” he said in a report by Malay daily Berita Harian.
“The total number of individual auctions increased manifold, with the winning bid for ‘V1’ plate the highest in history at RM989,780.
“RTD will introduce new vehicle registration plate numbers that are more unique after this following high demand from the public,” he added.
Last week, Utusan Malaysia reported that Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar won the bid for the coveted “V1” plate, citing a source.
The source also told the Malay daily that Kelantan ruler Sultan Muhammad V was the winning bidder for the “V9” plate valued at close to RM900,000.
Sultan Ibrahim was also the winning bidder for the “F1” number plate for RM836,660 in July, according to the Ministry of Transport’s Vehicle Licensing Division.
In 2014, the Sultan won the number “W1N” with his bid of RM748,000 and in 2012, for “WWW1” with a bid of RM520,000.
