Discounts for traffic summonses - a case of reverse credibility?

Lim Sue Goan

I could understand the shock received by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek when he learned about the discounts for traffic summonses offered by traffic police, as the committee of high-ranking officials headed by him had earlier decided not to give any more discount to traffic offenders. With the latest twist of event, the committee's six earlier meetings would have been rendered futile.

I can also understand the dilemma of Mohd Sidek. How is he going to tell the public about the revocation of discounts having fed them with the same for so long?

However, Mohd Sidek and his committee cannot go against the "Malaysian culture" where people would wait until the last minute or for a discount to be offered to them before they would pay their fines. With more than 15 million unpaid traffic tickets and given the merciless onslaught from PAS, can the government afford not to think of the people first? How many votes are those summonses translated into? Mohd Sidek is not a man of politics and he is hardly aware of the possible consequences.

Removing the discounts will invariably invite lots of backlash and grievances. Many low-income earners may have accumulated more than 20 traffic tickets over the years, and if each ticket costs RM300, the total would be a hefty RM6,000. How do we expect them to pay up?

The committee should address the crux of the problem. When the summonses have accumulated to over 15 million pieces and have become a political and national issue, it would not be easy for any government agency to handle the issue.

The heart of the problem lies in the pathetic efficiency of our enforcement personnel and the inaction on the part of the government. If they were a little more efficient, they could have ferreted out the offenders and dealt with the matter immediately, and this issue will no longer be present.

The government also lacks a firm stand on the issue of summonses. When the Ministry of Transport submitted the first reading of the 1987 Traffic Amendment Act last year, they proposed to triple the RM300 fine to RM1,000. However, the government had to kill the proposal later in response to widespread public opposition.

On May 14 this year, the traffic police received a directive that there would be no more discounts for traffic offenders. And on August 11, Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha announced that the Cabinet had decided to suspend the measure of blacklisting drivers who did not pay their traffic tickets until February 28 next year.

Discounts have always been offered in the past. How can there be none this year? Many people would start to question the enforcement authorities' credibility.

The objection of PAS is understandable. I have my own personal experience to tell. Not long ago I received a reminder from the traffic police to pay my summonses or I could get blacklisted. I went to their website to check and found that I had been issued one ticket each on January 29, 2008 and June 17 this year. I had not received any ticket by mail (POL170A), which according to the traffic police procedures should be sent to me within four days.

I had not changed my mailing address and I could not say for sure that the traffic police did not send me the notification letters as they could be lost in the mail. But to a driver unaware of such summonses, it would be very unfair for him to get blacklisted.

On the second day after the traffic police announced the discounts, I paid my fines with a 50% discount, saving RM300.

Although the government has said the "promotion" period will be extended to February 28, I am still glad I have paid my fines. However, I wonder if drivers who have paid much earlier would feel that they have been taken a ride by the government.

- Sinchew