KUALA LUMPUR — The High Court has ordered the Road Transport Department (JPJ) director-general to pay RM40,000 as compensation and RM25,000 in costs to Malaysian man Hasan Azhari Hashim for infringing the latter’s copyright on a proposal to issue “MADANI” as special vehicle number plates.

Hasan Azhari’s lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan today said this decision was delivered on Tuesday by High Court judge Datuk Edwin Paramjothy Michael Muniandy.

On January 15, 2025, Hasan Azhari had sued the JPJ director-general over the latter’s launch of public bidding for the “MADANI” special number plates.

Hasan Azhari claimed that the JPJ director-general had copied his idea and concept in his copyrighted proposal for “MADANI” number plates.

According to Rajesh, Hasan Azhari had registered with the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) a copyright for his proposal paper for the “MADANI” plates, with the copyrighted work titled “Kertas Kerja Mewujudkan Nombor Plat Khas Kenderaan Bersiri Madani 1 Sehingga Madani 9999 Untuk Didaftarkan Di Malaysia”.