Putrajaya says ‘no’ to deferring AES

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 − Putrajaya has refused to pander to demands raised by federal lawmakers across the political divide to temporarily shelve the Automated Enforcement System (AES) despite concerns raised over its ability to reduce road accidents by punishing speedsters.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha told reporters in Parliament today that the government is firm in implementing the system according to schedule, insisting that it would benefit road users in the long term.

“I think they (lawmakers) do not understand the whole system. Our officers today briefed the Prime Minister’s Office team.. and it was found that even they have misunderstood alot of things.

“And I think this briefing has been done several times over the past few years... if the MPs are honest enough to admit that,” he said.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha insists that the Automated Enforcement System would benefit road users in the long term. – File pic

The AES currently has 14 cameras installed at various accident-prone areas across the country and when implemented in full over the next year and a half, will include 831 cameras at “black spot areas” identified by traffic enforcement authorities.

During debates on Budget 2013, however, the controversial system earned criticism from MPs across the political divide, who urged the government for a thorough review of its design and operations before proceeding with full implementation.

The Penang government has also decided to defer its implementation, pending such a review.

Among others, lawmakers have asked if the AES was more meant to benefit the concessionaires commissioned to set system, pointing out that the firms would stand to gain profits for every summons issued.

The lawmakers have also questioned the location of the AES cameras, arguing that its existence in areas with speed limits between 30kph and 70kph was “irrelevant” as accidents were less rampant there.

They have also argued that speeding may not be the key cause behind the frequency of road accidents and claimed that other countries across the globe that have used the AES had found that the system failed to meet its objective of reducing deaths.

But when defending the system today, Kong pointed out that local authorities have been studying the matter for the past decade and had decided that the speed camera system was the best option to reduce road accidents.

“The concern over the high rate of accidents and deaths on the roads had initiated this study.. and everytime a bad accident occurs, people tend to blame the government.

“But now when the government wants to do something, there is also resistance,” he said.

Meanwhile, a PAS MP today filed a motion to cut Kong’s salary by RM10 for his “stubbornness” in refusing to defer the implementation of the AES.

Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) told a press conference here that the motion will deliberated on during committee stage debates on Budget 2013 next week.

“I will reveal all the studies that we have obtained from countries across the globe using AES, and how they abolished the system, as an indicator of why we should defer its implementation here.

Mahfuz insisted that the AES, implemented in a number of pilot locations from September 23 across the country, was not the best solution to curb road accidents.

“I filed this motion due to the minister’s stubbornness, his refusal to defer the AES and refusal to hold an open consultation with all stakeholders on the matter,” he said.

The PAS vice-president insisted that the AES, implemented in a number of pilot locations from September 23 across the country, was not the best solution to curb road accidents.

He said Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs, many of whom are also lobbying to defer the AES, should support his pay-cut motion when it is debated.

“We want to prove here that the AES is not the best solution to curb road accidents,” said Mahfuz.

“There are other steps that can be taken and even if they should choose the AES, all relevant studies must first be perused to determine its viability,” he said, adding that studies in cities abroad have shown the the system had not helped cut accidents.

To a question, Mahfuz denied that he was advocating speeding among motorists here, saying that the main cause of accidents was not necessarily speeding but other forms of human error.

He cited Germany’s Autobahn highway network as an example, pointing out that the road does not impose a maximum but a minimum speed limit on users.

“Therefore, speeding is not the main factor of accidents. It is other human errors... for example, when a road user driving slowly chooses to use the fast lane,” he said.

The AES has come under heavy fire from the public and lawmakers who claim the system is more profit-oriented than people-oriented.

The Penang government has decided to delay its implementation until the federal government agrees to a thorough analysis of the system’s design and operations.

It was recently alleged that the two companies that had won the coveted government concession for the AES — ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd — would stand to gain profits amounting to RM700 million annually from the pool of settled summonses issued to errant road users.

Both firms have also come under fire for claiming between RM600 million and RM800 million as cost to install 831 cameras in traffic hotspots nationwide.

According to English daily New Straits Times, a total of 63,558 traffic offences were captured on the AES within the first eight days of the system’s implementation.