BANGI: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) launched its signature vehicle registration numbers today to commemorate the university’s upcoming golden jubilee.
The project, spearheaded by the Chancellor Foundation since 2017, is aimed at generating funds for the university.
UKM vice-chancellor Professor Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor said they had set a sales target of RM10 million.
“Our main target market is our 215,000 alumni, many of whom have succeeded in their respective fields.
“The bid is also open to the general Malaysian population.”
The bidding will start on Jan 8, and the customised plates will be available from number 1 to 9999 starting with the letters UKM.
Hamdi said the opening bidding price for single digits up to number 9 will be RM100,000.
Present to launch the groundbreaking ceremony was Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who is an alumnus of the varsity.
“In the past, RTD allowed non-governmental organisations to sell special vehicle plate numbers for a fee of RM1 million.
“This provision has been discontinued to ensure transparency.
“Earlier this year, we extended the special registration plate programme to public universities for a nominal fee of RM500,000.
“The price reduction was made as universities will not be using the programme to generate profit, but to develop themselves.
“I hope that UKM will continue to excel in producing excellent Malaysian professionals in various fields.”
He urged fellow UKM alumni to show their support.
“I hope that UKM alumni and graduates will help generate funds for the university and take the opportunity to own a unique registration number.
“It’s like killing two birds with one stone.”
Loke said three other public universities’ applications had been approved — Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).
UKM is the first university in the country to develop a special online bidding platform for the vehicle licence plate sales, to ensure an efficient process, in line with Road Transport Department (RTD) regulations.
Ubida, for university’s bidding system, was developed by the UKM’s Chancellor Foundation and Information Technology Centre.
The platform aims to provide a similar experience to RTD’s eBid system, complete with an online payment feature enabling bidders to safely make payment online.
Hamdi said: “The university is very fortunate to be the first higher education institution in the country to be approved by RTD and the Ministry of Education to proceed with the vehicle registration number sales.
“This ceremony also marks as a historical milestone for UKM which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on 18 May 2020.
“The vehicle licence plate project aims to instill a sense of pride and identity among the UKM community.
“We are planning to offer the Ubida online system to other public universities, if they are interested, to ease the bidding process of the vehicle registration numbers.”
Also present were Higher Education deputy director-general Prof Dr Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin, RTD director-general Datuk Seri Shaharudin Khalid and UKM board member Datuk Yeow Wah Chin.