KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — The government has yet to decide whether to raise the minimum age for obtaining a motorcycle licence.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ministry is weighing the risk of pushing more underage riders onto the roads without valid licences.
“The proposal had been discussed years ago, but there were pros and cons to changing the current minimum age of 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,” Loke told a press conference at the Transport Exhibition (TXA) here today.
He noted that some students aged 13 or 14 were already riding motorcycles without licences despite the existing minimum age.
“This is not something which is a straightforward answer. It cannot just be about increasing the age limit,” he said.
The minister said the issue needed to be considered seriously, adding that at the moment there is yet to be a decision made on changing the minimum age for motorcycle licences.
He was responding to a proposal made by the Malaysian Road Safety Research Institute (Miros), that the minimum age for obtaining motorcycle licence should be raised to 18 to help curb illegal street racing for minors.
Miros chairman Professor Wong Shaw Voon cited this as a serious issue as it involved children as young as 12 who are riding without motorcycle licences.