The Ministry of Public Works and Transport officially launched a pair of new websites yesterday that will allow Cambodians to register their vehicles as well as take the written portion of their driver’s exam online.

The new system was touted as a way to speed up the process as well as eliminate potential graft.

“It will make registration fast and easy . . . They do not need to wait a long time like before when it took three months or more to register,” said Transport Minister Sun Chanthol.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has repeatedly encouraged ministries to adopt “e-government” solutions, also praised the latest development in a post on his Facebook page.

“People will not pay an administrative fee, will get documents easily and quickly, and will also eliminate unofficial pay,” he wrote.

But Ear Chariya, director of the Institute for Road Safety, yesterday wondered if the changes would lead to a decrease in the Kingdom’s large amount of unregistered vehicles.

“People try to avoid registration because of taxes,” he said.

It’s an issue ministry spokeman Vasim Soriya acknowledged remains a problem. “This is the other issue . . . sometimes people don’t want to register and pay the tax,” he said.

Chariya also voiced fears that it would be easy for people to cheat in an online exam, and questioned the purpose of a driver’s exam when most vehicle owners those driving motorbikes of 125cc or less aren’t required to have one.

In addition to the two websites, a free smartphone app was unveiled that is aimed at versing citizens on the Kingdom’s traffic laws.