Getting a Driving Licence in Penang

You are allowed to drive in Malaysia (ergo Penang) if you hold an American, British or international driving licence for the short period of your visit as a tourist. An international driving licence allows you to drive in the country for up to a year. If you are staying here for over one year, you need to get a Malaysian Driving Licence.

The first step to get a driving licence is to contact one of the driving instructors or driving schools in Penang. The school will be able to advise you the steps required. Go through the list of driving schools I have listed in the above link, and choose one that is most convenient or suitable to you.

The Road Transport Department (JPJ) administers a two-step driving test. They are the Regulation Test and the Road Test.

JPJ Regulation Test (Ujian Undang-Undang)

The first step towards getting your driving licence is to sit for the Regulation Test (Ujian Undang-Undang). This is a computerised test where you answer a set of multiple-choice questions. It is given after you have completed the mandatory six hour safety course. The test is often conducted at a school classroom on a weekend. Your driving school will provide you further instructions. You have to get at least 42 out of the 50 questions correct in order to get a Learner licence.

The Learner licence may be reneweed every three or six months, to a maximum of two years, while you prepare for the road test.

JPJ Batu Uban, where driving tests are conducted on Penang Island (18 February 2012)

JPJ Road Test (Ujian Memandu)

Once you have received your Learner licence, the driving school can schedule you to take the road test. In between, the school will prepare you for the various parts of the test. During on-road lessons, the "L" learner plate (red letter on white background) will be affixed to the vehicle you are practising on, to warn other road users of your learner status.

The JPJ Road Test is conducted at the Road Transport Department offices in either Seberang Jaya or Batu Uban. Expect to be there the whole day, or about five hours. On the day of your driving test, be sure to arrive early. Your driving instructor may be on hand to help getting things in order for you. Be vigilant to note when your name is called. By all means, be polite to the tester.

The Road Test has two parts. The first part is done off road, and is the one that many people fail. It tests the following skills: The second part is the on-road (Ujian Memandu Jalan Raya) test. Here's a bit of advice: follow the driving school's instruction. How you drive on the road during the driving test is a well choreographed step-by-step process that you must demonstrate in order to pass. In other words, knowing how to drive a car is not enough to get you a pass. Naturally most people are pretty nervous when the tester sits next to you in the car, but you must remember to show him every step, including those prior to starting the engine and stepping on the accelerator.

Probationary Licence

Assuming you pass your road test, you are given the Probationary Driving Licence. You are now allowed to drive on the road, as long as you affix the "P" probationary licence plate (white letter on red background) to the car you are driving. There is a demerit point system in the country. If you commit traffic offenses totaling 10 demerit points and above in a year, your licence will be revoked.

Regular Driving Licence

After two years with the "P" licence, you may upgrade to the regular driving licence, or "Competent Driving Licence". This regular licence allows you up to 15 demirit points before it is suspended or revoked. This licence has to be renewed at regular intervals: you can opt to renew it for one, two, three or five years. The renewal can be done at most of the post offices in the country.

Classes of Driving Licence

These are the varioius classes of vehicular licences in Malaysia:

• Class A: For disabled people
• Class B: Motorcycles
1. Class B1: Motorcycles not exceeding 500 cc
2. Class B2: Motorcycles not exceeding 250 cc
• Class C: Motorised Tricycles
• Class D: Cars not exceeding 3000 kg

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

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About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.