PUTRAJAYA: Transport Minister Anthony Loke said his ministry has agreed to loosen the requirements for the Class B1 and B2 holders to upgrade to a Class B licence.
He said those who had been holding the licences for more than 10 years despite not renewing on time, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, are still eligible to upgrade their licences.
Loke said the decision was made following feedback received by the Road Transport Department from the public stating their inability to renew their driving licence on time during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period at the height of the pandemic.
"Immediately, we are further simplifying this requirement: the validity period of the driving licence only needs to be active or meet a duration of 10 years or more; it doesn't need to be 10 consecutive years," he told reporters.
However, Loke said the ministry would maintain other requirements for the upgrade, including that those who have been blacklisted or have outstanding summonses will not be eligible.
He added that the decision proved that the ministry was always willing to listen to public feedback.
"We set requirements; if those requirements are not practical or the objectives set are not met, we will make changes to allow more people to benefit from our programmes," he said.
The special transition programme, which began yesterday, allows Class B1 and B2 licence holders with over 10 years of experience, a clean record, and not on an RTD blacklist, to upgrade to a Class B licence after completing two hours of training and passing a practical test.