NEWS UPDATE: Transport minister Anthony Loke responded by telling Hasan he ‘can try his luck’ if he wants to pursue the matter. Loke said the authority to register any vehicle registration number is governed by the Road Transport Act 1987, which specifies that this power lies with the minister.
The Madani car plate number series that were recently auctioned off is now embroiled in controversy.
A businessman is suing the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and the Transport Ministry for RM1.3mil over alleged copyright infringement, according to a report by The Star on Tuesday.
Hasan Azhari Hashim, a director at Ilham Madani Sdn Bhd, claims ownership of the “Proposal Paper for the Creation of a Special Serial Vehicle Registration Number Madani 1 to Madani 9999,” copyrighted under the Copyright Act 1987.
He made his claim through law firm Raj & Sach.
The Star reported that Hasan had initially proposed a collaboration with the government in February 2023.
The ministry responded in October that year, stating that regulations prevent private entities from issuing special registration numbers.
JPJ later announced the “Madani” number series with a starting bid of RM100.
Hasan’s letter demanded JPJ’s response within seven days, citing financial and reputational damages due to the alleged unauthorised use of his idea.
Online bidding for the special Madani series was held from Oct 19-23.
JPJ collected RM2.62mil from the exercise. The top three numbers were Madani 6 at RM68,888; Madani 5 at RM58,001; and Madani 4 at RM55,000.
