Making money from traffic summonses?
PKR alleges that the BN government is deliberately issuing more 'tickets' to road offenders to increase its coffers.
SUNGAI PETANI: The home ministry is making money from traffic offenders by issuing more summonses and giving a 50% discount for road users to settle them later, PKR claimed today.PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said it is clear that the government wants an injection of funds and the best way to do it is through collection of traffic summonses.
He believes the outstanding summonses could be about RM500 million.
Those who do not support Barisan Nasional (BN) should be careful on the roads, or if possible, take public transport, Saifuddin said.
Otherwise, they may land up paying indirectly to BN, he added.
He said there is a growing public outcry over how the federal government monitors traffic summonses and the allegedly dubious procedures involved in issuing the tickets and collecting payments.
He noted that the government could have easily suspended the driving licence of offenders who have allegedly committed six offences.
But, he said, this was not done and the offenders continued to be slapped with summonses.
Some 17.3 million traffic summonses remained unpaid, despite the 50% discount offered to offenders until Monday, according to traffic chief Senior Asst Comm Abdul Aziz Yusof .
Motorists who have not paid their summonses are blacklisted effective from now.
Saifuddin also said that imposing deadlines and thinking of ways to entice road users to settle their summonses indicated that the government wants to increase its coffers.
“Do not get us (PKR) wrong. We support measures to reduce road accidents and we want offenders to settle their dues, but the approach used now is misleading and outright victimisation.”
Punitive measures
Saifuddin asked if the punitive measures imposed have reduced road accidents or fatalities.
He also said that it was strange that express bus drivers who were issued summonses in the past could still continue to drive.
The government must understand that people are not settling their dues because they cannot afford it, he said, adding their priority is their families, healthcare and daily expenses.
Saifuddin also noted that the government was apparently planning to privatise the collection of summonses.
It was reported in Parliament that the police had been collecting about RM450 million from summonses every year since 2000.
This is a huge amount and someone is trying to capitalise on it, Saifuddin claimed, saying that the company awarded the contract would have to collect more than RM450 million.
This means that more summonses would have to be issued, particularly postal ones which are recorded using video or radar technology, he said.
In the end, he added, more people will be burdened with summonses.
