A traffic jam along Monivong Boulevard in Phnom Penh in February. The government issued a sub-decree on the registration for vehicle identification cards and number plates on Monday. Heng Chivoan
The government on Monday issued a sub-decree on the registration for vehicle identification cards and number plates at the request of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Article 22 of Chapter Three in the sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen gives the right for people who want to change to a new car to apply to keep their old number plate and transfer it over.
Heang Sotheayuth, the spokesman and director of the Department of Information and Public Relations at the ministry, said on Wednesday that the sub-decree will make it easier to find the owner of a vehicle as the number plate and identification card will be attached with the vehicle frame number.
The sub-decree also provides an opportunity for vehicle owners to create personalised number plates, choosing their own numbers or letters. The personalised number plate is something the owner can keep for as long as they wish.
The Sub-decree outlined: “For this special vehicle number, [it must say in] Khmer language ‘Cambodia’ on the top, and the middle part is the registered number consisting of number or/and English letters not exceeding eight digits, and at the bottom, in English language, [it must say] ‘CAMBODIA’ below the horizontal line.”
Sotheayuth added: “The personal special number enables the vehicle owner who buys this number plate to keep this number for future use if they want to equip it on their new vehicle.”
Sotheayuth said car owners may sell their car with a personalised number plate attached, or keep the number plate when the vehicle is sold, but they must not sell the number plate separately as this would violate the law. Personalised number plates may be ordered from the government, he said.
Kong Ratanak, the Institute for Road Safety acting director, said on Wednesday that it is a good step forward for people who wish to have a personalised number plate or those who wish to keep their old plate and transfer it to a new car, but he still had some concerns.
“What we are concerned about is that there are so many number plate types in Cambodia – such as the number plate of ministries, departments and the government – which are already too many. We believe that the management of this is not good yet."
“I support having a uniform number plate for civil servants and another type for the general public, so that it is easier to manage,” he said.
