Earlier on, there was a report saying that driving school fees are set to double by August 1 following the implementation of the new driving curriculum. The proposed fee will range from RM1,200 to RM1,600 for a manual driving licence, and an additional few hundred more for an automatic driving license. The fees will be slighter higher for urban areas.
That led to Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to intervene and advise the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai to reconsider as this will impact young Malaysians who are facing the escalating cost of living. Later, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai tweeted that the implementation of the revised driving school curriculum had been postponed until further notice.
The Ministry of Transport also stated the needs of the “Rakyat” is the highest priority and asked the Road Transport Department (JPJ) to re-look into this and its cost implications. Thus the current fee structure for driving schools remains status quo, for now.
Knowingly part of the new curriculum requires longer teaching hours and a new teaching method – which includes one-on-one teaching and practical learning on circuits, does somehow make an increase of driving school fees justifiable, should we want our roads to be safer. It may be a small price to pay, but it will be worthwhile should we want our road users to be educated with the correct driving ethics which may lead to safer roads for all Malaysians. It looks like we might need to wait a little longer for that to happen.
