I posted article on old number plate to be changed last week. Recently, City Hall officials require all motorbike and car drivers to buy new-look license plates as soon as possible. They also warn to all people who do not replace new one, authorities will keep those vehicles temporarily until the owners full out forms to get a new plate or they will be risk losing vehicles.
Directive dated June 15 was released by municipality to order all drivers to buy new number plates. And new motorcycle license costs $7.50 and a new license for car goes for around $27.
Khmer Intelligent reported reaction to the directive for new license plates:
After the Phnom Penh municipality issued a directive for all vehicle owners to stop using their old license plates and change them to a new license place, the traffic police started stopping vehicles bearing the old license plate. The police action met with angry reactions from vehicle owners. The public strongly criticized the police action by saying that the municipality issued the directive not even two weeks yet, and now it ordered the arrest of all vehicles bearing the black and white license plates already.
The vehicle owners said that the black and white license plates are not illegal, but if the municipality orders them to acquire new license plates, it should make them pay less, after all, they paid for the black and white license plates once already.
Keo Sarin, the director of the land transportation department of the Ministry of Public Works, said that the old license plates are not illegal, and they are still valid for use.
Ung Chun Huor, the deputy director of the land transportation department, said that the old license plates identify all vehicles and they were issued by the government for the public to use. For now, it is not illegal to use them, and the law does not force anyone to change their old license plates for new ones, the change is made on a voluntary basis.
At the end of last year, Municipality used to order all motorcycles to be installed mirror but the strategy was unsuccessful. When directive did not announce across country, some people were fined by police, most of them are people from rural areas. Maybe the new directive of ordering to change new plates will go on the same way by police taking this opportunity to pocket money from drivers.
That’s not as cheap as 7.5 and 27. The real cost is much higher than that. In Cambodia there is a published cost(look cheaper) and the real cost that involve in speeding up the process, and making thing easier…(Bribe??) I donno
Yep, I thought that it is not cheap. my brother paid $25 for his motorbike’s new number plate. As i knew, officials charge some axtra money for registration of plate. That is bribe !!!! I do not agree with new directive because i paid already for my old plate. Why I need to pay new one. it means that i will pay double.
By the way, it is hard for the poor to buy new ones. Their daily income is below $1 per day. Government servant, teachers, and so on earn around $20 per month. How do they pay new one? The Gov’t should take into account Cambodians.