Mohd Shuhaili
KOTA KINABALU: Four bidders of a unique car plate number, SAB4H, had to withdraw their bids after the Road Transport Department (RTD) decided to give it to Istana Negeri.
RTD director Mohd Shuhaili Mohd Taufek said Head of State or Tuan Yang Terutama (TYT) got the number for free as there is a special allocation for Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Juhar Mahiruddin.
“We have returned the other bidders’ money because the headquarters in Kuala Lumpur has decided to give it to the palace,” he said.
Mohd Shuhaili revealed that the vehicle registration number within the number series from SAB1H to SAB9999H that drew the highest bid of less than RM70,000 was SAB1H. The bid was higher than that offered for SAB4H, which was about RM50,000.
SAB1H was bought by an individual who declined to be identified, he said, adding that the owners of the new registration numbers could start using them from yesterday.
According to Mohd Shuhaili, the RTD had invited bids for registration numbers in the series middle of November.
The most wanted plate number issued in Sabah before this was the Labuan registered LD1 which was auctioned for about RM92,000.