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In a
surprise bipartisan move, backbenchers and Opposition MPs formed an
impromptu alliance in the Dewan Rakyat today, to speak out against the
soon to be up and running Automated Enforcement System (AES) for traffic
offences.
The matter was first brought up during Sim Tong Him’s (DAP-Kota Melaka) turn at debating the 2013 Budget.
Sim (right)
wanted the government to look at revamping the speed limit laws prior
to the AES’ full implementation, as inconsistent speed limits on the
highways may victimise the rakyat when speed limits suddenly vary on the
same stretch of road, and the automated camera-based system penalising
them at such areas.
The system’s implementation, he said, should be frozen for now, as other than inconsistent speed limits, many other amenities like traffic lights are still not standardised and this may cause the system to record false offenses.
Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) stood up in support of her fellow elected representative, relating how a stretch of highway in Kajang, where the speed limit is at 110kph except for a stretch where it is 90kph, which is where the AES system is installed as if intentionally trying to entrap the rakyat.
The opposition MPs were joined by BN Backbenchers who also asked for a postponement of the system.
“Just postpone the AES,” urged Mohamad Aziz (BN-Seri Gading) (left).
“Maybe the company just want to make money,” he sniped, expressing uncharacteristic agreement with Fong’s statement.
‘Install proper warning signages’
Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) also joined in the fray, urging the government to install proper warning signages to ensure that drivers are properly warned instead of being ambushed by the system.
"When
I drove here for example, I saw one warning sign, but I never saw the
second sign nor the third sign, and I never even saw the camera itself,"
she lamented.
Things got slightly noisy as the opposition heckled Mohamad, reminding him that he, like many BN MPs, voted for the amendments that allowed the AES to come into force.
The Seri Gading MP, however, defended his actions as being in the interest of the rakyat.
The highly contentious AES system became the poster child for Pakatan Rakyat politicians of a system awarded to cronies and abused for profit’s sake, though the government has maintained that the system is needed as a deterrent to Malaysia’s rising traffic offences and fatal road accidents.
The matter was first brought up during Sim Tong Him’s (DAP-Kota Melaka) turn at debating the 2013 Budget.
Sim (right)
wanted the government to look at revamping the speed limit laws prior
to the AES’ full implementation, as inconsistent speed limits on the
highways may victimise the rakyat when speed limits suddenly vary on the
same stretch of road, and the automated camera-based system penalising
them at such areas.The system’s implementation, he said, should be frozen for now, as other than inconsistent speed limits, many other amenities like traffic lights are still not standardised and this may cause the system to record false offenses.
Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) stood up in support of her fellow elected representative, relating how a stretch of highway in Kajang, where the speed limit is at 110kph except for a stretch where it is 90kph, which is where the AES system is installed as if intentionally trying to entrap the rakyat.
The opposition MPs were joined by BN Backbenchers who also asked for a postponement of the system.“Just postpone the AES,” urged Mohamad Aziz (BN-Seri Gading) (left).
“Maybe the company just want to make money,” he sniped, expressing uncharacteristic agreement with Fong’s statement.
‘Install proper warning signages’
Noraini Ahmad (BN-Parit Sulong) also joined in the fray, urging the government to install proper warning signages to ensure that drivers are properly warned instead of being ambushed by the system.
"When
I drove here for example, I saw one warning sign, but I never saw the
second sign nor the third sign, and I never even saw the camera itself,"
she lamented.Things got slightly noisy as the opposition heckled Mohamad, reminding him that he, like many BN MPs, voted for the amendments that allowed the AES to come into force.
The Seri Gading MP, however, defended his actions as being in the interest of the rakyat.
The highly contentious AES system became the poster child for Pakatan Rakyat politicians of a system awarded to cronies and abused for profit’s sake, though the government has maintained that the system is needed as a deterrent to Malaysia’s rising traffic offences and fatal road accidents.
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