KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 12 — The government cannot abolish the road tax yet as it is a major source of revenue to the country, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said today.

He said that half of the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) annual income of RM4 billion comes from road tax, news portal Malaysiakini reported this afternoon.

"Road tax is one of the revenue sources for the government. If the government were to waive everything, then the government would not have resources. Then how are we going to manage the country?

"The people should understand that in any country, the government needs to collect taxes and road tax is one of the important ones,” he was quoted as saying during a news conference at the national DAP headquarters here.

Loke, who is also DAP secretary-general, was responding to calls to do away with the road tax altogether instead of the physical sticker that he had announced last week.

He reiterated that the adoption of the digital road tax was optional, and the current sticker would still be made available to those who want a physical copy.

"I know some said this move makes it difficult, especially for senior citizens and those living in rural areas where the Internet connection is poor.

"But I would like to stress here: we are not making this mandatory. You can still use the old sticker road tax,” he was quoted as saying.

On Friday, he announced that effective immediately, it is no longer compulsory to display road tax stickers on private vehicles owned by Malaysians as the government moves towards digitalising services.

Via the MyJPJ application, drivers may examine the information and expiry of their driving licence and road tax documents.

However, vehicles registered for e-hailing services, goods and company services as well as non-Malaysian drivers and vehicle owners would still have to display all the required permits and documents as before.