KUALA LUMPUR: Some pleaded, others cajoled the Road Transport Department (JPJ) employees in a bid to have their very last-minute applications for the “WWW” registration numbers accepted.

Despite having two weeks to submit their bids, many still waited until the last day and rushed to JPJ branches yesterday to submit their bids.

Some pleaded with JPJ officers to accept their bids after the bidding closed at noon yesterday.

Bidding frenzy: JPJ officers collecting the bids at their office in Wangsa Maju yesterday.

At the Wangsa Maju branch, many had started to queue up at the entrance even before it opened at 7.45am.

“I took the day off from work to be here,” said marketing executive Tan Sie Yie, 40, who placed bids for three numbers.

Tan said she was bidding for the “WWW” prefix as she believed it would bring prosperity and good luck.

She said one of her bids was for RM3,000 but declined to reveal the other two.

Kuala Lumpur JPJ director Mohd Nadzri Osman said they had prepared for the final rush by allowing bidders for “WWW” to go straight to the three dedicated counters without having to take numbers.

By 10am, the three counters had been increased to five.

Businessman Khairul Azuad, 34, said he decided to bid as it was a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

Long line: Bidders queuing at the JPJ office in Wangsa Maju yesterday.

“It is a very attractive number so I am just going to try my luck,” he said, adding that he had been at the office by 8am as he had anticipated the rush.

When asked why he waited until the last day, he said: “I guess I'm a typical Malaysian.”

Just two minutes before the deadline, a man was seen rushing to the counter with 10 envelopes.

JPJ officers scrambled to register the bids, managing to accept four of the 10 bids before noon.

Mohd Nadzri had earlier predicted that the “WWW” series could attract a bid as high as RM500,000.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha had said that “WWW” received the highest number of bids ever recorded by the JPJ, far surpassing the previous record for “WVW” at 4,750 bids.

The “WWW” series is popular because the surname Wong or Wang rhymes with “prosperity” and “emperor” in Chinese.

The results will be announced on May 24.

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