$267k for a number plate? Malaysian influencer reveals why she's willing to pay for 'FF9'

How much would you pay for a nice car number plate? 

For Ivon Wong, she was willing to pay a whopping RM909,999 (S$267,000) just to get the number plate FF9. 

This week, the influencer drew attention for her bid on the special FF number plate series that was launched to mark the 77th anniversary of Malaysia's Road Transport Department, reported The Star. 

But why was she willing to pay so much? 

"It represents cherished memories and the bond I shared with my dog Fei Fei," she revealed. 

Her beloved pet died three years ago. 

"When I came home from work or when I was going through difficult times, Fei Fei was always there to greet me," the 35-year-old said.

Apart from her pet, Wong also shared that she wanted the number nine in her number plate as her two cars — a McLaren 720S and a Mercedes — had the same number on them too. 

When the bidding closed on May 19, Wong did not manage to get her desired number plate, as someone else outbid her by RM2,000.  

There were even higher bids 

While Wong's bid was already an eye-popping amount, others went even further. 

The highest bid in the exercise was a staggering RM950,000 for number plate FF8, and the second-highest was RM911,999 for number plate FF9, reported Astro Awani. 

According to Malaysia's transport minister Anthony Loke, the FF registration number series even broke the highest collection record in Malaysia's history since the introduction of online bidding and reached a total value of RM34.3 million.

"The FF series is very popular because the identified trend is that people are very interested in registration numbers that have the same alphabet. I understand that many Ferrari vehicle owners are interested in this FF [series]. Of course, the FF [series] is a very special serial number," Loke said.

In fact, the bidding process, which was supposed to close on May 18, had to be extended for another 24 hours due to the amount of people increasing their bids last minute, which caused a temporarily disrupted in the online bidding system. 

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melissateo@asiaone.com