Motorcyclist

Some 93,600 students all over Malaysia are riding motorcycles to school without a licence, daily, according to Road Transport Department (JPJ) deputy director general, Datuk Yusoff Ayub, The Star reports.

These unlicensed students make up about 80% of some 117,000 students in Malaysia who currently ride a motorcycle to school, he disclosed. According to him, most of these students ride without a licence because they had no one to send them to school as there is a lack of a school bus service in their area.

He urged parents to have their teenagers (aged 16 and above) enrolled in the MyLesen programme. “Every day, these students are exposed to danger as they have no proper knowledge about handling their machines, road safety and traffic regulations,” Yusoff stated.

Said programme will see participants learn to ride a motorcycle and allow them to have their B2 class licence (motorcycles under 250cc) for RM299. The normal cost for obtaining the licence – without going through the MyLesen programme – would be RM350.

Elsewhere, 186 senior citizens in Gelang Patah, Johor received their first B2 licence through the 1JPJ 1Community programme, which started in February and has now concluded.