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JPJ Runners Must Register From 1 November: What Changes at the Counter in January 2027, and What You Can Do Yourself
From 1 January 2027, only intermediaries registered with and approved by JPJ may transact on a customer's behalf at any JPJ office. Registration opens online on 1 November 2026 and, according to the director-general, is free. Approved runners get a two-year digital ID. Here is what was announced, what has not been published yet, and how to check a runner before you hand over your documents.
Airport Tax in Malaysia Explained: PSC, Departure Levy, the RM1 Regulatory Charge and SST on Your Air Ticket
On an RM120 AirAsia ticket from klia2 to Singapore, RM59 is government and airport charges and another RM18 is fuel surcharge. We read the Malaysia Airports, CAAM and Customs rules on 18 October 2026 to explain each line: the RM11, RM50 or RM73 PSC, the RM8 to RM150 departure levy, the RM1 regulatory charge and 8% SST on domestic fares.
EV Charging Prices in Malaysia 2026: What Gentari, chargEV, Shell, TNB Electron and Tesla Charge per kWh
There is no regulated price for public EV charging in Malaysia: each operator sets its own rate site by site and shows it only in its app. We pieced together the published memberships, idle fees and promos on 17 October 2026. A typical DC fast charge costs RM1.30 to RM1.80 per kWh, about RM47 to RM65 for a 20-80% top-up on a 60 kWh car, against roughly RM16 at home.
Money Taken From Your Bank Account Without Consent? When Malaysian Banks Must Refund You (2026)
Since 1 October 2024, Bank Negara's SEFT policy has set out when a bank must absorb a fraud loss on a transaction you never made, how fast it must answer you, and when it must lend you up to RM5,000 while it investigates. Here is how it works, what it does not cover, and where to go if the bank says no.
Zakat and Income Tax in Malaysia 2026: How the Rebate Works, the 31 December Cutoff, and This Year's Nisab
Zakat paid to a state zakat authority comes straight off your income tax bill, ringgit for ringgit, but only up to the tax you owe and only in the year you pay it. Here is how the rebate works, why 31 December matters, the 2026 nisab in KL, Selangor and Penang, and how salary deduction cuts your monthly PCB.
Minimum Wage in Malaysia 2026: RM1,700 Today, RM2,000 From June 2027, and Who the SME Exemption Covers
Malaysia's minimum wage is RM1,700 a month for almost every employer, worth RM8.72 an hour. Budget 2027 raises it to RM2,000 from June 2027, but firms with sales under RM50 million are exempted for now. We read the gazetted order, the Act behind it and the Budget speech to show the daily and hourly rates, what counts as wages, what the exemption still leaves open and how to report an employer who underpays.
ECRL Kota Bharu to Gombak 2026: Opening Date, 16 Stations, Journey Times and What We Know About Fares
The East Coast Rail Link's first phase, Kota Bharu to Gombak, is targeted to open for passengers in mid-December 2026. Fares have not been announced yet: MRL says the Transport Ministry will set them, with ticket sales targeted for November. Here is the route, the journey times from test runs, and what to ignore on social media.
Langkawi and Labuan Duty-Free Limit Rises to RM10,000 in 2027: What Changes, and the Labuan 48-Hour Catch
From 1 January 2027, Budget 2027 raises the duty-free allowance on goods you take out of Langkawi and Labuan from RM1,000 plus small item caps to a single RM10,000 limit on almost all new goods. Liquor and tobacco stay out, and Labuan's qualifying stay doubles from 24 to 48 hours.
Driving Your Malaysian Car Into Singapore: VEP, Autopass and the S$50 Fee From 2027
Singapore's Vehicle Entry Permit for Malaysian cars is S$35 a weekday with 10 free days a year until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 it becomes S$50 with no free days or free evening hours, and from 2 November 2026 cars with unpaid Singapore fines cannot apply or renew. What a day trip costs now and next year.
Budget 2027 Cash Aid: What STR and SARA Pay Each Household in 2027
Budget 2027 raises STR and SARA to RM16 billion, but for most STR households the yearly total does not change. Cash shifts into SARA grocery credit, the poorest childless households gain RM100, and about 13 million adults outside STR get RM100 of SARA MADANI twice. We compared the 2026 and 2027 tables line by line.
Budget 2027 Income Tax Changes: Two Lower Rates, a RM12,000 Personal Relief, and What You Actually Save
Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October 2026, cuts the resident tax rate on chargeable income between RM70,001 and RM150,000 by one point, raises the personal relief from RM9,000 to RM12,000 for the first time since 2010, and widens six existing reliefs to cover postnatal care, sports shoes, children's tuition, AI subscriptions and pet adoption. Income above RM1 million now hits 30% instead of 28%. Everything starts from the year of assessment 2027, so it applies to income earned in 2027 and the return you file in 2028. We read the figures off the Finance Ministry's own tax-measures annex and worked out what five salary levels save.
BUDI Diesel Transfer Rules 2026: Any BUDI95 Holder Can Now Get It, Up to Three People, and No Second Chances
Since 16 September 2026 a diesel owner can pass BUDI Diesel to whoever actually drives the vehicle, not just immediate family, and to as many as three people. The transfer is one-way and final. Here is what the Ministry of Finance FAQ says, the 27th-of-the-month cut-off, and what it is worth at this week's pump prices.
Paying Tolls in Malaysia in 2026: JustGO Now Covers the Whole North-South Expressway, but MLFF Still Has No Date
Since 23 September the Penang Bridge reads your number plate, completing PLUS's JustGO rollout from Sungai Dua to Kempas. A week later the Works Minister said barrier-free MLFF tolling will not be rushed, with single-lane fast flow from 2027. Here is what each payment method works on today, what JustGO asks of you, and what has not been announced.
SARA 2026 Credit Expires on 31 December: How Much Is on Your MyKad and What It Can Buy
The October SARA credit landed on MyKads on 1 October 2026. Unspent SARA rolls over month to month, but every ringgit left on 31 December 2026, including the RM100 SARA for All, expires automatically. Here are the monthly rates by category, how to check your balance, the 15 item categories, and what to do if your MyKad was replaced.
Free ATM Withdrawals in Malaysia: Which Machines Dropped the RM1 Fee, and Which Still Charge It
Since 1 July 2026, withdrawing cash from another bank's ATM in Malaysia costs nothing, with no monthly cap. The catch is that the waiver only covers machines run by banks. Euronet, Safeguards and Reachful machines at convenience stores and petrol stations can still charge RM1. Here is how to tell them apart in two seconds, and what the waiver does not cover.
Melaka State Election 2026: Polling 14 November, Nomination 31 October, and How to Check You Can Vote
The Election Commission has fixed the 16th Melaka state election: nomination on Saturday 31 October, early voting on Tuesday 10 November and polling on Saturday 14 November 2026, with 687,697 voters across 28 seats. Here is how to check where you are registered, the postal vote deadlines (23 and 28 October), and what your employer owes you on polling day.
Malaysia's Freedom of Information Bill 2026, Clause by Clause: Who Can Ask, What Is Off Limits, and Why It Is Not Law Yet
The Freedom of Information Bill 2026 was tabled on 13 July and is still with a parliamentary select committee after a national town hall on 28 September. We read the bill itself. It lets Malaysian citizens aged 18 and above ask federal bodies for information, sets a 15-working-day decision clock and a 48-hour one for life-and-liberty cases, but lists 17 kinds of exempt information, keeps the Official Secrets Act on top, and leaves the fee unset.
LINDUNG 24 Jam in 2026: What the 0.75% Buys, Who Still Pays It, and How to Opt Back In After 31 August
PERKESO's LINDUNG 24 Jam scheme covers employees for accidents outside work, anywhere in Malaysia, for 0.75% of salary (RM22.15 a month on RM3,000). It began as compulsory on 1 June 2026, became voluntary for Malaysians after the Cabinet's 8 July decision, and the opt-out window closed on 31 August. Here is where that leaves you: who is still covered, what June money cannot be refunded, and how to opt back in from 2 September.
JB-Singapore RTS Link: The January 2027 Start, the Fare Nobody Has Set Yet, and What Happens to the Shuttle Tebrau
Transport Minister Anthony Loke has said the Bukit Chagar to Woodlands North line is slated to start in January 2027, and both terminal stations were declared complete in August and September 2026. Fares are still unannounced, the Shuttle Tebrau is due to stop within six months of opening, and you will clear both countries' checks before you board. Here is what is decided and what is not.
Budget 2027 on 9 October: What Is Already Decided, What the Pre-Budget Statement Signals, and When Any of It Reaches You
Budget 2027 will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday 9 October 2026. Here is what the Finance Ministry's own Pre-Budget Statement says, the ten focus areas it named, the figures it chose to publish, which measures are already law or already running so will not be new on the day, and how long a new tax relief takes to reach your return.
Bidding for a Number Plate on JPJeBid in 2026: RM300 to Start, RM10 You Never Get Back, and the Week H1 Went for RM10.78 Million
JPJ's special H series closed on 20 September with RM91.21 million collected and H1 sold for RM10.78 million. You do not need millions to take part: the minimum bid for an ordinary number is RM300. This is how JPJeBid actually works, from the RM10 fee per number to the 12-month deadline to put the plate on a car, based on JPJ's own JPJeBid FAQ.
Maternity Leave in Malaysia 2026: The 98 Days You Are Owed, the 7 Days for Fathers, and the 30-Day Allowance That Is Not Law Yet
Every female employee in Malaysia is entitled to 98 consecutive days of maternity leave per confinement, and fathers get 7 paid days of paternity leave, whatever they earn. The rules have covered Sabah and Sarawak since May 2025. What is not yet in force is the Post-Maternity Leave Allowance announced on Labour Day 2026: 80% of your monthly wage for up to 30 extra days, paid by PERKESO rather than your employer. Here is what the Employment Act actually says, who misses out, and where EPCB stands.
Delayed Five Hours in Malaysia: The Refund Your Airline Must Offer, and the Regulator That Is No Longer MAVCOM
Malaysian air passenger rights are written into the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code 2016, and almost every guide online still tells you to complain to MAVCOM. That has been wrong since 1 August 2025, when MAVCOM's regulatory functions moved to the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia. The Code itself did not change. At two hours late the airline owes you meals and refreshments; at five hours it owes you a hotel if a night becomes necessary, and since the September 2024 enhancement it must also offer you a refund in your original mode of payment, before it offers you a voucher. Cancellations carry a 30-day reimbursement deadline. Baggage claims die if you miss a 21-day or 7-day writing deadline.
Before the Monsoon: The Four Numbers Beside Every Malaysian River, and the App You Should Install Now, Not on the Night
Malaysia's northeast monsoon runs from about November to March, and the official warning machinery is already live and free to read. MetMalaysia grades a continuous rain warning as Alert, Severe or Danger. The Drainage and Irrigation Department publishes a live water level for every river station against four thresholds: Normal, Alert, Warning and Danger. And NADMA's RM1,000 Bantuan Wang Ihsan is claimed through the MyIBJKM app by scanning a QR code at an evacuation centre, which is a bad moment to be creating an account for the first time.
MyNIISe and MyBorderPass in 2026: Which App Actually Clears You at the Autogate, and Where It Works
Malaysians now have three government apps attached to one walk through immigration, and only one of them opens a gate. MyBorderPass is the interim QR app launched in 2024, MyNIISe is the full system meant to replace it, and MyDigital ID is only the login. The Immigration Department clarified the split on 27 January 2026. MyNIISe's nationwide rollout was targeted for September 2026, covering roughly 125 entry points, with clearance timed at four to five seconds. Here is what each app does today, where the QR lanes actually exist, and the four QR colours that decide whether you walk through or get sent to a counter.
MediAsas, Malaysia's Government-Designed Medical Plan: What RM500 per Illness Buys, Who Is in the Pilot, and Why January 2027 Matters
MediAsas is the base medical insurance and takaful plan built by Bank Negara, the Finance Ministry and the Health Ministry. Its pilot runs in the Klang Valley until October 2026 for staff of selected employers only, and the national launch is set for January 2027, the month BNM's cap on medical premium increases is due to lapse. We read BNM's pilot FAQ and White Paper line by line: RM100,000 a year, RM500 per illness, shared rooms, and a seven-year moratorium.
EV Road Tax in Malaysia 2026: A Proton e.MAS 7 Pays RM180, a BYD Seal Performance RM965, and the Old Table JPJ Still Links
The road tax exemption for electric cars ended on 31 December 2025. We read JPJ's 2026 rate circular line by line: road tax now rises in RM10 to RM350 steps for every 10 kW of motor power, from RM20 up to RM20,000. Most EVs sold in Malaysia pay RM30 to RM335 a year, and Sabah and Sarawak pay the same as the peninsula.
Malaysia's Under-16 Social Media Rule, Three Months In: What the Child Protection Code Requires, and the Parent's Account It Allows
Since 1 June 2026, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube must check a Malaysian user's age against a MyKad, passport or birth certificate before letting them open an account, and anyone under 16 is refused. We read the Child Protection Code, MCMC's FAQ and the Online Safety Act 2025 itself. Existing accounts are being checked in phases over up to six months, which runs out at the end of November. WhatsApp and Telegram chats sit outside the Act. And MCMC's own under-16 page says a child may still use social media through a parent's account, while its FAQ calls exactly that a risk platforms must detect.
Malaysia Public Holidays 2027: Six Federal Holidays Land on a Weekend, and Only Three Give You a Day Back
The 2027 schedule is out. We read the Prime Minister's Department's own Jadual Hari Kelepasan Am 2027, all 52 rows of it, on 12 September 2026. Chinese New Year falls on a Saturday and Sunday, Labour Day on a Saturday and Christmas on a Saturday, so six of the fifteen federal holiday dates land on a weekend. Only the three Sundays trigger the substitute day most private-sector workers are entitled to. Terengganu gets 21 holiday dates, Kuala Lumpur 18, Sarawak is the only state that does not observe Deepavali, and the school calendar for 2027 is still not published.
Water Tariffs in Malaysia 2026 by State: RM13 in Selangor, RM21 in Johor for the Same 20 Cubic Metres
Penang switched to its new water tariff on 1 July 2026, the last big state to adopt the rates the federal government gazetted for Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan on 30 July 2025. We read each operator's own tariff page. The first 20 cubic metres a month barely moved in most states, but where you live still matters more than how much you use: that first 20 cubic metres costs RM13.00 in Selangor and Penang and RM21.00 in Johor. Terengganu's middle band nearly doubled, so a household using 35 cubic metres there now pays RM38.55 instead of RM24.05.
Working on Malaysia Day 2026: What the Employment Act Pays You, and the RM4,000 Line That Switches It Off
Malaysia Day falls on Wednesday 16 September 2026, and it is one of only five public holidays the Employment Act 1955 makes compulsory by name. If your employer requires you to work that day, section 60D(3) says you get your holiday pay plus two days' wages at the ordinary rate, and it applies even if you work one hour. Overtime beyond your normal hours on that day is at least three times your hourly rate. But the First Schedule to the same Act switches section 60D(3) off entirely for anyone whose wages exceed four thousand ringgit a month, unless they fall into one of five listed categories, and the Act does not extend to Sabah or Sarawak at all. Here is the actual text, and where it stops applying.
The Gig Workers Tribunal Heard Its First Case on 1 September. No Lawyers Were Allowed in the Room
Malaysia's Gig Workers Tribunal sat for the first time on 1 September 2026, at the Kuching labour office in Sarawak. The case was an e-hailing worker against GrabCar Sdn Bhd over Saver Trips, Advance Booking and cashback incentives, and the worker argued it himself because section 36 of the Gig Workers Act 2025 bars advocates and solicitors from representing anyone before the Tribunal. The hearing was adjourned for further testimony. We read the gazetted Act 872 clause by clause and it answers two questions the first case raises: how a rider actually gets to the Tribunal, which is not by walking in, and who the Act covers, which for anyone not working through a platform is a list of exactly nine services printed in the Schedule. Freelance design, copywriting, coding and tutoring are not on it.
Car Loans in Malaysia 2026: The Early Settlement Rebate Is Gone, and a 3% Car Loan Is Really 5.5%
The Hire-Purchase (Amendment) Act 2026 came into force on 1 June 2026 and quietly deleted the two things every Malaysian thought they understood about a car loan. The flat rate is gone, replaced by an effective interest rate on a reducing balance. And the statutory early settlement rebate is gone with it, which sounds like a loss and is not. Bank Negara Malaysia's own consumer guide works the arithmetic: borrow RM100,000 over nine years at a flat 3% a year and you pay RM1,175.93 a month and RM27,000 in interest, exactly the same as a loan quoted at an effective 5.5%. The catch is timing. Providers have until 31 March 2027 to switch their systems, so a loan signed today may still be an old one, and the only way to know is to ask.
Tourism Tax in Malaysia 2026: The RM10 a Night Malaysians Never Pay, and the Johor Rule That Changed on 1 September
A new federal regulation quietly took effect on 1 September 2026. P.U. (A) 307, the Tourism Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2026, moves Johor out of Malaysia's Friday-Saturday weekend group for tourism tax administration, so the tourism tax offices there now open 7.30am to 4pm Monday to Friday instead of 8am to 4pm Sunday to Thursday. It is a small change with a long backstory, and it lands on top of a rate order gazetted only nine months ago. We read all four instruments on the Customs Department's own portal and set out what tourism tax is, who actually pays it, who is exempt, and the separate island levy that is not tourism tax at all.
The Six Measures That Started on 1 September 2026: BUDI95 Is Back to 300 Litres and the e-Invoice Line Moves to RM3 Million
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced six immediate cost-of-living measures in the National Day address at PICC on 30 August 2026, all of them effective from 1 September. Two of them change a number a lot of Malaysians already had memorised. The BUDI95 quota goes back to 300 litres a month after five months at 200, restoring the level cut on 1 April, and BUDI Diesel rises from 300 to 400 litres. The e-Invoice exemption threshold triples from RM1 million to RM3 million in annual turnover, which LHDN says takes more than 1.1 million businesses out of mandatory implementation. Re-checked a week on: the AI programme has opened with published rules, the extra diesel litres turn out to need an application, and LHDN's own criteria are narrower than the RM3 million headline.
Six New Tax Reliefs Started Counting on 1 January 2026, and You Claim Them in 2027
The relief list you use for the return you file this year is the year of assessment 2025 list, and nothing on it has changed. Six other reliefs took effect on 1 January 2026 and are being earned right now, on receipts most households are throwing away. They are claimed in the return filed in 2027. These are not proposals: they were enacted as the Finance Act 2025 (Act 874), gazetted on 31 December 2025, and we read them off the statute rather than off the Budget appendices. Childcare is the biggest change: a single permanent RM3,000, plus a new limb covering a care centre registered under the Care Centres Act 1993 for a child up to 12 - though the RM3,000 is per taxpayer, not per child. Relief for early intervention for children with learning disabilities rises from RM6,000 to RM10,000 and now fills the whole medical band. Life insurance relief extends to children, on a four-limb statutory definition. Vaccination relief widens to any vaccine registered with the NPRA. Home CCTV and food waste grinders join the RM2,500 environmental pot. And for Visit Malaysia Year 2026 only, entrance fees to tourist attractions are worth up to RM1,000 - but unlike the 2020-2022 version, hotel stays and tour packages are out. Budget 2027, tabled on 9 October, proposes one more year of the attractions relief, for 2027, and adds postnatal care to the RM10,000 medical band; the other four are untouched. Re-checked against Act 874, LHDN's relief tables and the Budget 2027 tax measures on 14 October 2026.
PTPTN in 2026: The First-Class Exemption Is No Longer Automatic, and Debt Agents Now Add 15% to What You Owe
Three things changed at PTPTN on 1 January 2026, and a fourth arrived on 7 July that almost nobody reported. The write-off for a first-class degree, long treated as an automatic reward for graduating with honours, is now restricted to B40 and M40 borrowers from public universities, must be claimed through the myPTPTN app within twelve months of convocation, and is refused if it is late. A new scheme turns the loan into a scholarship outright for students listed under eKasih, but only if they are under 25 and already hold an active Simpan SSPN account. The overseas travel bar is now targeted at three specific groups. And PTPTN has appointed seven external debt agencies to chase its oldest arrears, charging borrowers 15 per cent of everything they collect. Budget 2027 then added a 2027 deferment for borrowers earning up to RM2,500 a month, an RM50 minimum for RM2,501–RM3,000 and a 10 per cent discount for regular payers. Below: what each change costs, the deferment most borrowers have never heard of, the repayment campaign still open, and why there is no PTPTN discount running right now. Everything here comes from PTPTN's own portal and terms documents, read on 4 September 2026 and re-checked on 14 October 2026.
Malaysia's New Energy Efficiency Plan: NEEAP 2.0 Will Not Cut Your Tariff, It Will Delete the Cheap Air-Conditioner
PETRA has published the National Energy Efficiency Policy and Action Plan 2026-2035, and the household half of it works in a way almost nobody has explained. NEEAP 2.0 does not lower the tariff and does not send anyone a rebate cheque. It hits its domestic target by raising the Minimum Energy Performance Standards on twelve categories of appliance, and it raises them by promotion: today's 3-star efficiency level becomes tomorrow's 2-star minimum, and in a second revision today's 4-star level becomes the 2-star minimum. The cheapest models on the shop floor simply stop being legal to sell. On air-conditioners, the document's own arithmetic puts the first revision at 336 kWh a year saved per unit and the second at 447 kWh. The plan targets an 11.6 per cent cut in national energy demand and RM85.241 billion in savings by 2035, but the domestic sector carries the smallest share of it at 8.7 per cent.
Unclaimed Money in Malaysia 2026: How to Check Yours Free on eGUMIS, and the Agents, Emails and Apps to Ignore
More than RM13 billion of unclaimed money was sitting with the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys as at January 2026, and checking whether any of it is yours costs nothing and takes about a minute. The Accountant General's Department runs the eGUMIS portal, you search by identification number, and the Registrar charges no fee, sets no minimum amount and imposes no deadline. Two things are worth knowing right now. First, the Ministry of Finance and the Registrar have never appointed any individual, firm or company as an agent for unclaimed money claims, so anyone offering to recover yours for a cut is not authorised by them. Second, the Registrar has never sent a notification email to the public either: if a message tells you that you have money waiting, it did not come from the department, whatever the letterhead says.
EPF Akaun Fleksibel 2026: The RM50 Withdrawal, and the Dividend Rule That Decides What It Costs
Akaun Fleksibel is the one EPF account you can withdraw from at any age below 55, with no documents and no reason given, from RM50 upwards. What the EPF publishes and almost nobody reads is how the dividend behind it is calculated. Contributions credited during a month only start earning on the last day of that month. Withdrawals stop earning on the day they leave. At the 6.15 per cent rate declared for 2025, taking RM1,000 out in early January and not replacing it costs roughly RM61 of dividend for the year, while the same withdrawal on 1 December costs about RM5.
Tribunal Tuntutan Pengguna 2026: Claim Up to RM50,000 for RM5, With No Lawyer in the Room
A shop keeps your deposit. A contractor takes the money and never finishes. A phone comes back from repair worse than it went in. Most Malaysians write it off, because the alternative sounds like hiring a lawyer. It is not. The Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia, set up in 1999 under the Consumer Protection Act, hears claims of up to RM50,000 for a filing fee of RM5, registers the claim the same day it is filed, aims to hear and settle it within 60 days of the first hearing, and hands down the award on the hearing day itself. Lawyers are not allowed to represent either side. The award counts as an order of the Magistrates' Court, and ignoring it for 14 days is a criminal offence. Here is how it works, and the list of disputes it cannot touch.
Delayed, Bumped or Missing a Bag: What Malaysian Air Passenger Rules Actually Give You in 2026
The year-end school break runs from 4 or 5 December to 31 December 2026, so the airports fill up again and the same questions come back every year. Two hours late and you are owed meals, calls and internet. Five hours late and you are owed a hotel if you have to stay the night, or the full ticket price back in the way you paid, within 30 days. A bag that goes missing is covered to 1,288 Special Drawing Rights, which is about RM7,120 at Bank Negara's published rate. One thing has changed and most guides have not caught up: the agency you complain to is no longer MAVCOM. Its old website does not even resolve any more.
Transferring a Car in Malaysia 2026: It Is RM137.80, Not RM130 — and Only Four of Carro’s Eight Centres Are Actually Open
Selling a used car privately costs far less in fees than most people assume, but the number almost every guide prints is wrong. The JPJ transfer is RM100 for a private vehicle and RM3 for a motorcycle, filed on mySIKAP. The inspection that must come first is quoted as RM30 and actually costs RM37.80 once the RM5 booking fee and 8% SST are added. Two things changed this year in the seller's favour: the inspection report is now valid for 120 days instead of 60, and Puspakom is no longer the only inspector. But Carro's eight announced centres are not all open — only four are, and all four are in the Klang Valley.
Malaysia's e-Invoice in Plain Terms: Who Must Issue One in 2026, the New RM3 Million Exemption, and the FY2022 Rule Nobody Mentions
The last phase of Malaysia's e-Invoice rollout started on 1 January 2026 for businesses with turnover up to RM5 million — and since 30 August 2026 most of them no longer have to issue at all. LHDN's e-Invoice Guideline Version 4.8 raised the exemption from less than RM1,000,000 to less than RM3,000,000, with three carve-outs for businesses tied to a larger shareholder, holding company or related company. Two other things are widely misunderstood. Your phase was fixed by your FY2022 numbers and does not move with later turnover. And the exemption only covers issuing: anyone selling to you still has to issue an e-Invoice, and any company you own is assessed on its own.
Your Saman Halves Itself for 15 Days, Then Stops: The Rule Nobody Explained When Campaign Discounts Ended — and the RM500 Ceiling Coming in 2029
Malaysia stopped running seasonal saman discount campaigns on 1 January 2026. In their place, JPJ and PDRM adopted one standardised nationwide schedule built on a phrase the Transport Minister used at Parliament: "the less you delay, the less you pay". Pay within 15 days and the compound is cut by half. Pay between day 16 and day 30 and it is cut by a third. From day 31 to day 60 you pay the full rate. Past day 61 the file goes to court and the vehicle owner is blacklisted. Six months later, Parliament passed the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2026 — the Dewan Rakyat on 24 June 2026, the Dewan Negara on 21 July — raising the maximum compound from RM300 to RM500, raising minimum court fines from RM300 to RM500 as a separate change nobody separates, creating a standalone offence for street racing, and tripling the jail exposure for driving while your licence is suspended. Royal assent came on 30 August 2026, it was gazetted on 15 September 2026 as Act A1794, and the Ministry of Transport announced that it came into force on 16 October 2026. The racing, lookout and suspended-licence penalties apply now. The one change deferred is the RM500 compound ceiling, which starts on 1 January 2029. Here is what changed, what it costs, what is in force today, and the dates that decide which version applies to you.
BUDI95 Is Back to 300 Litres: What the Cap Is Worth This Week, and Exactly What Happens at Litre 301
The BUDI95 quota is back to 300 litres a month. It was cut to 200 on 1 April 2026 and restored on 1 September, after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the reversal in his National Day address on 30 August; BUDI Diesel moved with it, to 400 litres for jeep and pick-up owners. The restoration landed just ahead of a sharp rise at the pump: unsubsidised RON95 went from RM3.77 in the first week of September to RM4.57 by 24 September, and is RM4.52 a litre for 1 to 7 October 2026. With BUDI95 still fixed at RM1.99, the government is now paying RM2.53 for every subsidised litre — RM759 a month if you use the whole quota, more than double what the 200-litre cap was worth in August. Here is what the cap is worth, the rules that have not changed (one shared balance for petrol and diesel, litres that expire on the 1st, a RM250 ceiling per transaction), the BUDI Diesel transfer rules that changed on 16 September, and what happens at litre 301: nothing dramatic — the pump simply charges you the unsubsidised price.
The 1.25% Coming Out of Every Job: What the Gig Workers Act Actually Gives Malaysian Riders and Drivers
Since the Gig Workers Act 2025 came into force on 31 March 2026, platforms in Malaysia have been deducting 1.25 per cent of every completed job from riders and drivers and paying it to PERKESO. Most people affected know the deduction is there. Far fewer know what it buys — or that the same Act gives them rights that have nothing to do with money. We read PERKESO's own FAQ, issued the day the Act took effect, and the Bill text tabled in the Dewan Rakyat. The deduction funds Plan 1 of the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme at RM157.20 a year, which covers free treatment at government hospitals, 80 per cent of insured income during sick leave from a work accident, RM500 a month if you need constant care and a RM3,000 funeral benefit. The provisions almost nobody talks about are elsewhere: a platform can suspend your account for a maximum of 14 days while it investigates, must tell you in writing, and if it finds no reason to deactivate you it must reinstate you and pay half your average daily income for the days you were locked out. Here is the full picture, with the figures.
The New MyKad Is Here: Issued Since 17 September, Same Day at 40 JPN and UTC Offices, RM10 to Switch, No Touch 'n Go — and Losing Yours Twice Still Costs RM310
Updated 1 October 2026: the new-generation MyKad is finally in people's hands. JPN unveiled what it calls the seventh-generation identity card on 16 September and has issued it in stages since 17 September — on the same day at 40 JPN and UTC offices with their own printing centres, and in about five working days at every other branch. Nobody is being forced to switch: JPN's own FAQ says existing holders need not change just because a new card exists, and advises a change only for KPP, KPT and MyKad without a ghost image. If you do switch, it costs RM10. The new card carries 53 security features against the old card's 23, and it drops one feature Malaysians have used for two decades: it is not a Touch 'n Go card. Lost-card fees on JPN's own pages are unchanged at RM110, RM310 and RM1,010. Below: the 40 same-day offices state by state, who should go and who should not bother, the online replacement portal that now needs MyDigital ID, and how the June-to-August stretch when nobody had the card actually played out.
TNB AFA October 2026: 3.61 sen/kWh, Your September 800 kWh Credit Lands This Month — and the Outlook Turns Up to 7.59 sen
October 2026's AFA is a surcharge of 3.61 sen/kWh (RM391 million) — a touch below September's 3.67 sen but above the 3.36 sen TNB had projected. The outlook has turned: November 2026 to January 2027 is now +4.27 to +7.59 sen. Households using up to 800 kWh still pay no AFA, RM10 retail charge or SST until 31 December, and TNB says September's share of that relief is credited on the October bill. Here is how to read the two new bill lines, what each usage level pays, and what January could cost.
Renewing Your Road Tax and Driving Licence Online in 2026 — and Why an Expired Licence Now Costs You at the Pump
An expired driving licence used to be a problem only if you were stopped. Since BUDI95 started paying RM1.99 a litre for RON95, it is a problem every time you fill up: the subsidy requires a valid licence, and the system checks it against your MyKad. Here is what JPJ actually charges to renew a licence, what road tax renewal requires before you can even start, and which channels still work now that JPJ has suspended MyEG as a collection agent from 5 October 2026.
Every Malaysian Public Holiday Left in 2026 — Official Dates State by State, Selangor's Extra 25–26 October Holiday, the Deepavali Monday Question and the 2027 Schedule
From 28 September, ten holiday dates remain in 2026 — and only two of them, Deepavali and Christmas, are federal. We re-read the Prime Minister's Department schedule, Selangor's own state holiday notice and the 2026 school calendar on 27 September. Selangor has a Silver Jubilee holiday on Sunday 25 October with Monday 26 October in lieu, which most calendars still miss. The school calendar already closes schools on 9 or 10 November around Deepavali. Here is every remaining date, the leave maths for each, and the 2027 window worth booking now.
Renewing Your Malaysian Passport in 2026: The Official Fees, Who Can Actually Use MyOnline Pasport, and Why the Counter Is Faster
The Immigration Department's own rate table puts an adult Malaysian passport at RM200 for five years and RM350 for ten — but children under 12 pay RM100, OKU cardholders pay nothing at all, and losing the book costs RM400 the first time and RM1,200 by the third. The bigger surprise is timing: the department's Client Charter promises a passport in one hour at the counter, against one working day online. Here is what the official pages actually say, including the photo rule that gets applications rejected with no refund.
LHDN's e-Invoice Grace Period Now Runs to 31 December 2027: What Malaysian Businesses Still Need to Fix
The no-prosecution relaxation period for the final phase of Malaysia's e-Invoice rollout no longer ends on 31 December 2026. LHDN's own Specific Guideline now runs it to 31 December 2027, and since 1 September 2026 the exemption line sits at RM3 million, not RM1 million. Here is the current official position: who is still in, what the relaxation allows, the RM10,000 rule, and the voluntary disclosure window that closes on the same day.
F1 Sepang 2026 Recap: Verstappen Won, 261,000 Fans Came — Will F1 Return to Malaysia?
The Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia is over. Max Verstappen won a rain-delayed race on 4 October 2026, Sepang drew a record 261,000 fans, and the shuttles broke down. Here is what happened, whether F1 is coming back, and the two big races you can still get to this month.
Ringgit Exchange Rates Today: MYR to USD, SGD, JPY, CNY & More (Bank Negara)
Bank Negara Malaysia's official ringgit exchange rates for 9 October 2026 against the US dollar, Singapore dollar, yen, yuan and 23 more currencies. The ringgit has slipped back above RM4.08 to the dollar since September, and the 11:30am counter rates show what a bank will actually pay you.
Malaysia Haze 2026: Live API Readings, Johor School Closures to 23 October, and How to Read the Index
Read at 2pm on 19 October 2026: 26 of 68 stations are unhealthy and none is above 200, yet every Johor school stays shut until 23 October. Here is what the API bands mean, the reading that closes schools automatically (and why states close below it), why apims.doe.gov.my no longer works, and how to protect your family.
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Xventure Penang Opens 29 Oct: Second Ticket for RM1, Full Price List and What It Really Costs
Xventure, an 11-zone indoor adventure park, opens at The Waterfront Shoppes, The Light City, Penang on 29 October 2026. From 29 October to 1 November, the first 100 customers who buy a ticket can add a second one for RM1. Here is the full price list, the maths and the catches.
Fujifilm Malaysia October Cashback: X-T5 RM2,000 Off Plus RM400 Touch 'n Go, Ends 31 Oct
Fujifilm Malaysia's New Gear, New Stories promotion gives cashback on selected X Series cameras, GFX bodies and XF lenses bought from authorised dealers until 31 October 2026. The X-T5 gets RM2,000 back plus RM400 Touch 'n Go credit, but you must register the e-warranty within 7 days to claim.