Getting a Driving License in Malaysia 2015 new syllabus (The Whole Process and Tips)

In Malaysia , you're old enough to get your ass on a motorbike at 16 , legal to drive a car at 17 . As for me , I got my driving license at 18 . An aries baby but the delay was because of  a lousy excuse - I wanted to focus on a major academic exam first .( final year in high school/secondary school)
The process was really long and time consuming . 

Continue reading and I will tell you all the procedures from tip to toe ! Before that , I graduated from a driving school named PMC, Sungai Soi in Kuantan , Pahang . PMC stands for Pusat Memandu Cermat ( Careful Driving School )

And if you want to laugh , Click here , it's about my driving instructor and it is to entertain you ! 

1.  Register myself                                                                                              

•        I was told to pick a date ,only on Saturday ( for my driving school ) to attend a talk .                                                                                                                                                          

2.   Attend the talk                                                                                                                    

•  The talk lasted for 6 hours ( 9.00 am - 5.00pm) with lunch break in between.                                      
•  We were given a textbook which includes the theory ,  rules to obey while you drive.                        
•  The talk was boring and I don't think it was necessary , seriously .                                                        
•  It was to summarize or to hightlight the important elements in the textbook .                                      
• The speaker was someone working in the Road Transport Department Malaysia.                              

3. Prepare for the theory test                                                                                  

•  Take your time and flip your textbook.                                                                                                   
•  Just flip, ain't nobody got time to study using the textbook , it's too bulky .                                          
•  We were told to buy a mini Q n A book which consists of 500 Questions only at RM5.                                                                                
• That mini book is good enough to make you pass the theory test with flying colours.                                         

4. Take the theory test                                                                                                     

• Contact the relevant party a few days before to book the date you would want to                          take the test .                                                                                                                                                                              
•  The test was done on a computer in a room with many computers and partitions .                         
•  The test was easy if you have common sense .                                                                                       
• Even though you have common sense , you still have to study(at least the mini book ).                       
•  Passing mark is 42/50 , if you have common sense and you read up the mini book ,                     your score will NORMALLY ( I can't guarantee anything ! ) range from 47 to 50 .                             
• You will have more than enough of time . I checked twice and I only took less than                    1/2 hour to finish it . Time allocated was like more than an hour （ I forgot ).                                      
•  Be sure you obey the dress code , collar tee with sleeve , long pants and shoes                             /sneakers .I got fined for RM2 for violating that .                                                                                                   

5. Wait for the issuance of L driving license        

•    L driver license is the learner's driving license , you need this to learn driving legally .             
•   The wait is like one month.                                                                                                                  
• Once the L license is issued , start learning as fast as possible before it expires ( 3 months) , in case you fail the test, you skip the hassle of getting another L license (not expired yet ) to learn driving again.                                                                                                                                                                                                       

6. Driving lessons in the driving school (track)

• According to the law , time allocated is 5 hours and 30 minutes. ( You have to pay extra if it exceeds 10 hours)                                                                                                                                   
• You may discuss with your driving instructor for the suitable time to attend the lessons .                   
• Supposedly , the lessons are conducted individually but some are in groups for the convenience of the driving instructor                                                                                                                      
• There are six things you need to learn and pass in total .

       
          
               i) Z track

•   the space is narrow , tougher compared to S track , turn the steering as soon as your car pass the kerb ( the pointy part of 'Z')

              ii) S track 

• more space , easier to control your vehicle .Moved forward while looking at the centre as a reference point to stay in the middle of 'S'

              iii) Parallel parking -

• park inside the yellow line. 

              iv) Three point turn

• there is a space shaped like 'L' , move forward into the vertical part of  the 'L' , stop , turn the steering to the right and reverse into the horizontal part of 'L'.

              v) Ascend and descend a hill

• accelerate up the hill , stop in the very bold yellow line /box indicated by two poles , free the gear , pull up the handbrake . Next, change to 1st gear and step on the accelerator until the engine sounds very loud , release the handbrake and followed by releasing the clutch , move forward down the hill WITHOUT descending backwards

               In short , to pass this part of the driving exam , you shall not hit the kerbs or dividers , et                      cetera . Stop when you see the stop (berhenti ) sign or a traffic light. Use signals and never                  descend BACKWARDS while you're on the hill. While doing the tasks above ( except the                       hill part , you're suppose to use clutch - control and the accelerator shall not be used.

         

             vi) Car inspection before driving (RPK & RSM) 

                                   Inspect the car inside and out . 

                                                                        

                                  [Inside]Check the hazard lights , meters , mirror and so on .

                                                                   

                                   [Outside] Open the frontal bonnet , you must be able to identify the things                                                    inside and inspect them . Open the car boot and check if the                                                             equipments are present and functioning well . Check if there are any                                                    dents, cracks ,damage or leakage .

I suggest you to record a video while your driving instructor is explaining all these to you , because there are too much things to remember , you might forget when you are having your driving exam !

Here's a video of RPK & RSM uploaded by someone on facebook , uploaded into youtube version by another someone . I do not own this video. 

7. Driving Lessons on the Road 

• According to the law , time allocated is 10 hours .( You have to pay extra if it exceeds 10 hours)                                                                                                                                                  
• There are two routes , either one is chosen during your test .                                                                 
• Remember the routes , familiarize yourself with the routes , know where is the stop sign , junctions and speed bumps.                                                                                                               
• Never let your engine stall while on the road during the test , you might fail it !                                    
• Never move too slow or too fast , the examiner will not have the patience , as many others are waiting to be examined . The maximum speed I was allowed to reach is 60 km/h 

8. Driving Test

• The date for the driving test shall be booked early if not you might not get the dates you want.                 
• Register yourself once you reach your driving school.                                                                            
• Track before road !                                                                                                                                
• For my place , we started with the RPK and RSM thingy , we were called one by one while the others wait in something like a veranda nearby . After that , we were handed over a piece of paper ( for them to fill in the marks) .                                                                                                        
• Pass the paper to another examiner on the hill , pick a car and just do it , get the paper back once you're done and pass it to another examiner at the parallel parking , wait for your turn.                                                      
• Once your name is called , go pick another car and do the parallel parking , 3 point turn , Z track, S track all in one shot and park the car in the original position.                                                        
• Get out of the car and get back your paper to get signed by another examiner , pass or fail .            
• You will be handed over another piece of paper for the driving test on the road ( instead of track ).                                                                                                                                                      
• Wait for your turn , pass the paper to the examiner and now impress the another examiner on the road !                                                                                                                                                
• All the examiners are from the Road Transport Department Malaysia. in full blue uniforms                                                
• You can choose either Perodua Kancil or Perodua Myvi for the test.

The paper given to me after passing my test in driving school, attached with my L license , this is for the test on the road . It's like a checklist . Photo taken with Nokia Lumia 520 .

9. Wait for the issuance of P license 

• P stands for probation period 

• I got mine one week after I pass my test .                                                                                               
• You can now drive legally on the road ! 

My P license , I know I look fabulous !!! Photo taken with Nokia Lumia 520.

10. Renew license 

• Your P license will expire after two years and will be replaced with a competent license if you did not break the laws on the road during your probation period .

• Renew your P license within a year once it expires.

Like my blogpost ? Feel free to leave a comment and ask me questions .Be a member of my blog . More posts coming up , stay tuned ! 

Peace out (\/)

Love,

Kaylyn Ang