BN VIEWPOINT: The politics of camera-based AES

ROAD EXPERIMENT- Pakatan boycott may prove to be the ultimate test of the system

IS it me, or is there anyone else who feels that the whole protest about the implementation of the Automated Enforcement System (AES) just does not add up?

Incidentally, the camera-based traffic monitoring system is being criticised not for what it is expected to do, but because of the companies operating it, allegedly cronies and thus justifiably to be given the whole political treatment by the federal opposition.

With elections around the corner, four Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states have decided not to go ahead with the AES. This is understandable if one is burnishing one's populist credentials -- cronies making money from the poor taxpayers, surely this cannot be allowed!

In a nutshell, it is no longer about saving lives, it is in a way one of the many guises in the campaign against Umno, and the Barisan Nasional government. It is politics as usual, unfortunately.

I believe a problem with the AES is the lack of information, both on how it works, and most importantly who is behind it. It is, of course, compounded by the fact that we are in the political season.

We have managed to shift the debate from saving lives, to denying cronies. I suppose we can see the priorities of some people.

Incidentally, when protesting the AES, we have essentially some lawmakers, all these elected representatives, siding with potential law-breaking. In principle, you will only be hauled up by the AES if you break the speed limit or beat the traffic lights. From what I gather, and I could be wrong, the system is supposed to be transparent.

You know in advance where the cameras are and no cronies can willy-nilly sneak one behind a tree to catch the innocent taxpayers.

But critics have pointed out weaknesses in the system, such as the coordinates being out at sea and the alleged lack of legal redress if one gets one's mug shot captured by the cameras. There are also calls for a more holistic approach to road safety, including education and awareness programmes.

These are the real issues that need to be addressed, or explained. Thus far, I don't see it, which allows for those allegations of cronyism to take centre stage.

Some issues are rather ridiculous too, like not all drivers are rich and thus the RM300 fine is too much. Dude, if you break the law and endanger other people, RM300 is the least of your concerns. Should only the rich be made to pay for their crimes?

Now Selangor, Kelantan, Kedah and Penang have decided that their citizens should be immune to the AES, hence they should not be made accountable for traffic offences that could otherwise be spotted by it.

Their chief ministers do not want traffic accident hotspots in their states to be included in the 831 identified nationwide because, well, they don't like them cronies. This unfortunate turn of events, however, can be turned into a good testing opportunity for the system. It is like a science experiment, where we have a set of samples without any intervention of the AES, and another, with.

For a start, the promoters of AES should make available for all to see the statistical details of all 831 sites, such as the number of accidents, deaths, as well as the nature of accidents, whether due to speeding or beating traffic lights; and those involved, either motorists, motorcyclists or pedestrians.

With the four states abstaining, we could possibly have a clear comparison on the effectiveness of the AES, a before and after kind of data. If AES works as its promoters claim it to be, we should find accident rates falling in non-Pakatan states' hotspots, and for those without the AES cameras, things will be largely the same.

This I believe is the best testimony for the system, and perhaps an indictment of those politicising road safety. Or if the reverse happens, it will prove that it is just a waste of money and an attempt to enrich cronies.

The only problem is that we may be using lives to prove it one way or the other. We have more than 400,000 traffic accidents every year, with more than 6,000 traffic deaths. These statistics should form the basis in all our discourses, debates or protests of any system aimed at reducing it. Unfortunately, we are obsessed with "cronies" leeching on our misdeeds.

Let us hope that none of us, or our loved ones, get involved in accidents because of our obsession with them cronies.

- New Straits Times