The government has yet to decide whether to raise the minimum age for obtaining a motorcycle licence from 16 to 18, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said. Speaking at the Transport Exhibition (TXA) in Kuala Lumpur today, Loke said the proposal had been discussed previously, but the government must weigh its potential consequences before making a decision.
He warned that raising the minimum age could lead to more secondary school students riding motorcycles without valid licences instead of preventing them from doing so, with the minimum age to obtain a motorcycle licence remaining at 16. “If you raise the age limit, secondary school students cannot get their licence. It will be a problem also, because then the student will ride motorcycles without a valid licence,” he said.
Loke noted in a The Malay Mail report that some teenagers aged 13 or 14 were already riding without licences, adding that the issue could not be resolved simply by changing the minimum age. “This is not something which is a straightforward answer. It cannot just be about increasing the age limit,” he said, reiterating that no decision had been made.
The minister was responding to a proposal by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) to raise the licensing age to 18 to curb illegal street racing involving minors, reports The Malay Mail. MIROS chairman Professor Wong Shaw Voon had highlighted the problem of underage riding, citing cases involving children as young as 12 who ride without valid licences.
