In case you didn’t know, Malaysia introduced the JPJePlate, a standardised number plate design which is made mandatory for new Zero Emissions Vehicles starting 9th November 2024.
The new number plate design is adopted not just for new Battery Electric Vehicles (EV) but also for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) registered in Malaysia.
After the JPJePlate was introduced for over a year, some have noticed something different with the Malaysian flag (Jalur Gemilang) on the plate. The Jalur Gemilang appears to be missing one white horizontal stripe.
What is JPJePlate?
To recap, the JPJePlate represents the start of a new standardised number plate design which addresses the issue of fancy number plates. It consists of front and rear plates, as well as an RFID windshield sticker and a set of anti-theft one-way screws.
The aluminium plates are produced by Handal Ceria in Cyberjaya and they come with extra features which include embedded RFID, anti-counterfeiting foil, holographic stripes and a QR code that serves as a digital signature.
Similar to UK registered EVs, there’s an extra green stripe on the left to symbolise zero emission vehicles, which also include the Jalur Gemilang and the label “MAL” as the international vehicle code for Malaysia.
Malaysia flag on JPJePlate: One stripe is missing
If you look closely, the Jalur Gemilang is printed on the top left corner of the plate surrounded by a white border. If you start counting the horizontal stripes, you’ll notice there are 7 red stripes and only 6 white stripes, excluding the white border. That means the printed flag only has a total of 13 stripes instead of 14.
Jalur Gemilang Guideline by JaPen
According to the Jalur Gemilang guideline provided by the Malaysia Information Department (Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia), the Malaysia flag originated from the flag of the Federation of Malaysia. Following the merger of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore in 1963, the number of stripes and star points was increased from 11 to 14, representing 14 states of Malaysia.
After Singapore left Malaysia on 9th August 1965, the 14th stripe and star point were retained to symbolise Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
Based on the guideline, the Jalur Gemilang must have a 2:1 aspect ratio (Width:Height) and contain a total of 14 stripes as illustrated above. The star must also contain a total of 14 points designed according to the above specifications.
Going back to the JPJePlate, it does appear that the printed Malaysian flag doesn’t comply with the Jalur Gemilang design guidelines and a correction is required.
We have reached out to Handal Ceria for further clarification.
