PUTRAJAYA, May 3 — Transport Minister Anthony Loke today announced two initiatives that will make life easier for holders of Malaysian driving licences.

Firstly, he said starting from May 8, Malaysians can now renew their driving licence for a period of up to 10 years.

The current policy only allows Malaysians to renew their licence for a maximum of five years.

"Any LMM holder who renews their driving licence for a lump sum period of 10 years will only be charged a special fee that is for a period of nine years only.

"For those who are interested, they should ensure their current driving licence is valid for at least a year before expiry,” he told reporters during a press conference at the Transport Ministry today.

The acronym ‘LMM’ stands for ‘Lesen Memandu Malaysia’, which translates to ‘Malaysian Driving Licence’.

Loke said the public can still choose the number of years that they want to renew their driving licence for, but that the special fee is only for those who renew their licence for 10 years.

He added that this is only applicable to Malaysians, not foreign nationals.

The second initiative announced today is that all drivers whose licence expired from January 1, 2018 onwards can apply for a renewal without retaking a driving test.

"This takes into account the Movement Control Order (MCO) during the Covid-19 pandemic and constraints faced by Malaysians abroad who cannot to renew their driving licence because they can’t return home.

"The Transport Ministry will give special dispensation to any LMM holder whose licence has expired from the validity period to renew their respective LMMs without having to re-test,” he said.

Loke said the initiative will only last until December 31 this year and the previous policy will come into force again on January 1, 2024.

He said that both initiatives are only available at Road Transport Department (JPJ) offices.