Cermat Madani: a step forward, but one teh tarik short of bold

From Shahrim Tamrin

Malaysia is finally rewarding safe drivers. That’s what the rakyat have been waiting for.

Transport minister Loke Siew Fook this week unveiled Cermat Madani, a programme that links the road transport department’s (JPJ) driving records with insurance premiums via MyJPJ, allowing motorists with clean records to enjoy an additional 10% discount on top of their existing no-claim discount (NCD).

That deserves recognition.

If lawbreakers have been rewarded by the government with a RM50 flat rate or massive discounts for many years to settle outstanding traffic summonses, the question is whether we are rewarding the law-abiding, careful drivers enough to make a difference.

Cermat Madani introduces something different: the idea that responsible behaviour should be rewarded, not merely that irresponsible behaviour should be punished.

That is progress. But good ideas should not be exempt from computation.

For example, say a driver with an annual premium before discounts is RM1,200.

After enjoying the maximum 55% NCD, the premium falls to RM540. Apply Cermat Madani’s additional 10% discount and the annual saving comes to RM54.

That works out to RM4.50 a month. In other words, a monthly reward of a teh tarik and roti kosong.

For motorists who have spent years driving responsibly, avoiding crashes, accumulating maximum NCD, and renewing their insurance online without incident, the reward may feel to some degree insignificant.

To be clear, this is not a criticism of Cermat Madani. Quite the opposite.

I support it. What I am questioning is not the direction, but the scale of the ambition – because the true significance of the initiative isn’t the RM54.

It is the data crunching quietly taking shape for the insurance industry. For the first time, Malaysia is creating a pathway that allows drivers’ records, the demerit points system, digital services, and insurance rate to communicate with one another.

MyJPJ is no longer merely a licence and road tax application. It is potentially becoming the bridge between driving behaviour and insurance risk assessment.

That is where things become genuinely interesting.

When the promotional phase ends and more sophisticated risk scoring begins, we will see whether Cermat Madani is the foundation of a modern road-safety ecosystem or merely another well-intentioned announcement destined for the under-the-carpet conclusion.

The truth is, international benchmarks suggest that we should aim much higher.

In the UK, telematics-based usage insurance – tracking real-time speed, braking, and driving hours – contributed to a 37% drop in young driver fatalities between 2018 and 2021. Not 37% off premiums. Thirty-seven percent fewer young people dead or seriously injured. The result has been measurable improvements in safety outcomes, particularly among younger drivers.

In the US, drivers with Progressive’s Snapshot or Allstate’s Drivewise save 20% to 30% through actual demonstrated safe driving – not through a static record review once a year.

Record-based systems reward what you did. Behaviour-based systems influence what you are doing. That feedback loop is where habits change, attitudes shift and lives are ultimately saved.

Which brings us to the obvious next step.

If Malaysia is serious about rewarding safe drivers, then let us build a package worthy of the name.

Extend NCD tiers beyond the current 55% ceiling. Japan allows discounts up to 63%. Introduce telematics-based incentives with meaningful savings for obviously safe driving.

Offer benefits that motorists can actually feel: enhanced towing coverage, flood and landslide protection, discounted windscreen replacement, expanded passenger coverage, and emergency roadside assistance.

Go further. Reward the behaviour, not just the absence of incident reports.

Cermat Madani is not a bad idea. It rewards what you do. Telematics rewards what you are doing and feeds it back to you in real time.

The data exists. The technology exists. The platform exists.

What remains is the willingness to build a safe-driver rewards ecosystem so attractive that obeying the law becomes more than a duty – it becomes a benefit that people actively want to protect.

Malaysia’s roads deserve an ambition considerably larger than a monthly teh tarik.

Shahrim Tamrin is a sustainable transport and road safety activist and a former Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research board member.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.