Gerakan: AES has 'many flaws', needs further study

In  the light of the public “uproar”, the government should put the “flawed” Automated Enforcement System (AES) on hold and conduct further studies, BN component party Gerakan says.

“I urge the Ministry of Transport to conduct further re-evaluation of the AES as there are many flaws detected in the system.

“Although it is a noble intention to prevent road accidents, it must not be implemented hastily,” Gerakan central bureau on environment, safety and quality of life chairperson Cheah Soon Hai (left) said in a statement today.

Cheah said the AES has elicited “massive complaints”, causing the four Pakatan states to reject the system, and blamed this on the government trying to “bulldoze” the system through.
 
“Gerakan itself has also received numerous complaints from the people when they are issued summons,” he added.

The Derga state assemblyperson also said that while he understands the reason to install the AES on highways, he is puzzled with the need to install it in towns where the speed limit is  60 to 70km/h, much lower than the highway speed limit of 110km/h.

“I hope that the government will also install signboards and traffic lights with countdown to warn motorists about an AES further up front.

“This is because some motorists might panic upon seeing the yellow light and brake suddenly, causing more accidents. This will defeat the purpose of implementing the system,” Cheah said.

'Transition period needed to adapt to new system'

He also urged the government to provide a transition period for the people to adapt to the new system while conducting more road shows to provide further explanation before implementing it

However Cheah's comrade in MCA, the party's Federal Territory Youth chief Chew Lian Keng, argued that the AES was needed to combat the 23 percent increase in traffic accidents over the last four years.

In a statement issued today, the Chew (right), who is a senator, lambasted PAS for instigating the people to break the law by not paying their traffic fines.

“They are only doing this for their own political ambitions, and have no interest in looking after the people’s lives.”

Chew backed his argument by citing police statistics showing that the number of road accidents has increased from 363,319 in 2007 to 449,040 in 2011, a sharp hike of 23.6 percent.

“Based on investigations by the traffic police, the main cause of car accidents is human error, which accounts for 85.74 percent of all accidents, including speeding and reckless driving. 

“The number of cars in Malaysia is also growing by about a million each year, and this corresponds to the increase in the accident rate.”

He said the AES has proven to be effective in reducing traffic accidents, enforcement manpower and bribery in many countries and more importantly, it could discourage motorists from speeding as well as increase public awareness about safe driving.

Place lives of the people foremost, Pakatan told

Chew admitted that any system or measure may have shortcomings but said the authorities would work to improve it, using public feedback.

“I also urge the four Pakatan states to put aside their political differences and to work together with the Transport Ministry to reduce the accident rate of our country and to place the lives of the poeple first and foremost.”

His view is shared by Kedah MCA chief Chong Itt Chew, who also condemned PAS vice-president and Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar (above) for calling on the people not to pay their AES fines.

“Such action shows that Mahfuz is an irresponsible person and is behaving unfairly towards members of the public who abide by the rules.

“We cannot simply allow the loss of lives in car accidents to continue. 

“Therefore, we should support the implementation of the AES, which will help to reduce the number of car accidents in the country, and subsequently, reduce the death rate due to traffic accidents as well,” Chong said.