[Part 6] Getting My Driving Licence : Ujian JPJ Bahagian II

Please read this post, which is a summary on how to get a driving licence, as well as the previous part(s) before reading this one if you haven't already.

        I never expected the previous post about the JPJ test to get too long until I have to make another post on the Bahagian II test. Sigh. Let me just crack my knuckles and get this done with.

        As a recap, the JPJ test is divided into two parts. Bahagian II (litar) and Bahagian III (jalan raya). You can still continue to do the other part on the same day if you failed one part. For example, I failed Bahagian III on my test day but I was allowed to continue with Bahagian II on that day itself.

        After finishing my Bahagian III, I walked over to the counter to do some paperwork before heading to the cafeteria for a break. I think we were given some time to rest before having to head back to the school compound circuit for the Bahagian II test. To be frank, I felt like dying. The hot temperature of the day and deflated motivation from my failure of the Bahagian III test made me look like a zombie. I had a horrible headache that felt like my brain was being constantly punched. The bad thing whenever I have a headache is that I lost all of my appetite to eat or drink, making my condition even worse.

Hot temperature + Stress ➜ Headache ➜ Loss of appetite ➜ Dehydration ➜ :-(

        It's a dreadful cycle to be stuck in. I spent most of my time sitting on a chair in the corner and having my head down while my eyes are closed. I must've looked really terrible that a driving instructor came over to me and handed me a water bottle. I thanked him before taking a reluctant sip. The water was refreshing, but I had to fight the incoming nausea that appears whenever I dare to consume anything while having a headache. After feeling a bit better, I tucked the bottle into my bag and got up to get ready for the Bahagian II test.

This is what people probably saw me as while I'm having a headache.

        I joined the crowd of people in the same session as me and we headed to the school circuit. The JPJ officers on duty told us that we will be doing RPK (Rutin Pemeriksaan Kereta) and RSM (Rutin Sebelum Memandu) first before doing our Bahagian II stuff. Everyone sat under a pondok while waiting for our turns. At first, the JPJ officers called around 4 people at the same time because there were 4 cars available to be checked but after finding out that trying to handle 4 people at once was chaotic, they reduced the number to 2 candidates at a time.

        Some people were a bit careless in their routines, missing a few parts or not doing the checks correctly. I guess they were nervous about being watched by many other people while doing the routine. The JPJ officers will get mad at you if they call your number but you show up late so always be alert. When it was my turn, I jogged to the checking station (it's like, what, 15 steps away from the waiting pondok?) and placed my bag down. I turned to the JPJ officer who was sitting down at a desk in front of the car and greeted him before asking if I may start the routine. After getting the green light, I did the RPK.

        I'm usually really shy and nervous to perform anything in front of the watchful eyes of others, but I guess this time I was just flat out tired and couldn't care less about my usual anxiety. I raised my voice louder than usual (a.k.a. my presentation voice) and stated out each part while gesturing to them. Here, watch this video to get an idea of how I performed my RPK. At the boot, I took out each tool and showed it to the JPJ officer. At the bonnet, I checked each tanks' water level as well as check the engine oil level using my own tissue. When I was done, I turned to the JPJ officer and said so. I was allowed to leave and I said my thanks before collecting my things and going back to the waiting pondok.

        Not to brag, but I think everyone else learned from my presentation because I started to see the others after me mimicking my gestures and checking the engine oil (something I failed to see being done before my turn). When everyone in my session was finally done, the learning cars were already lined up to be used. Following turns, each person got into one car and a JPJ officer will be outside their car to assess their RSM. When it was my turn, I got into a car and an officer told me to start my RSM. He'd yell at me whenever I got a bit slow in remembering the dashboard symbols but, already tired to give a care, I just smiled. As usual, I missed some points because he probably didn't hear me stating some parts so be sure to raise your voice and have the officer's full attention.

        Basically, you do each course as you would during your lessons or QTI. JPJ officers would be sitting down at various pondoks near each course and assess you by writing down stuff on your assessment sheet. Make sure to raise your arm out of the car or honk after completing a task to inform the officers on duty. I'm not going to talk about this in detail because it'll just be a repeat of my previous posts.

        Now that I thought about it, a lot of embarrassing things happened to me during the Bahagian II test because of miscommunication between candidates and JPJ officers. When I reached the hilltop in the bukit course, I raised my arm out and looked at the JPJ officer who was like right next to me on the hilltop. He just stared at me with an "are you an idiot" look. He yelled "Are you done?" at me and when I nodded, he yelled again "Then honk! Can you people ever follow instructions?!" He was...right next to me. I literally had no need to sound my horn since he's an arm away from me. Some people really like to humiliate others in front of everyone else, it seems. I just gave him a little shrug and smile before driving down the hill. I also did the S-road course and when I reached the end, I raised my arm and honk at the pondok in charge of said course. After numerous failed attempts to get any response, I thought "screw this, I hate bringing attention to myself" and drove away to the next course.

        If there's an obstacle course that's further away from the JPJ officers pondok, then be prepared to wait a while while honking occasionally until one finally decides to head over and assess you. There was also a time where I was waiting for someone to finish the Z-road course and they were still in the road. I got yelled by a JPJ officer for "being too slow and causing a traffic jam" in front of everyone else. They were probably all looking at me like I was the idiot in this situation, someone to snicker at in impromptu conversations with the other person. You want me to risk hitting the car that's still doing the course just because there's only 1 car waiting behind me? Whatever floats your boat, dude. I just rolled my eyes and drove into the Z-road course.

My reaction every time I get unnecessarily yelled at by JPJ officers.

        After all was done, I drove back to the starting point and got out of the car. Even making sure to park in a safe distance from people was enough to warrant another condescending yelling from a JPJ officer. "Just stop the car already and get out!" and other negative adjectives were said towards me. I just walked back to the office with a neutral look on my face. 

        Long story short, I passed my Bahagian II test. I lost a lot of points for the "blindspot" section but oh well. All's well that ends well. Almost. I still need to book again for my Bahagian III test for another day. I did that at the counter before "signing out". My driving instructor seemed disappointed that I failed the road test when I had the luck of getting the easiest route and a nice JPJ officer (I guess driving instructors and JPJ officers know each other well).

        Moral of the story? Please, please do not be overconfident like me. I've constantly received remarks that I was too confident in my driving and was driving like an experienced driver. It may sound positive, but probably not so when you couple it with my anxiety. I think I subconsciously try to mimic other drivers in order to not inconvenience anyone that I end up doing daring choices, such as driving too last for my learning level and not being too careful.

        Next post will, hopefully, finally be the end of this series. I'll be briefly touching on retrying my Bahagian III and how I eventually applied for my P driving licence. I'd rather fill my blog with posts about college or travelling rather than unhelpful posts about some stranger on the Internet getting their driving licence.

🔆 ~Thanks for reading my post and have a nice day~ 🔆