Blacklisting of traffic offenders who fail to pay fines lifted temporarily (Updated)

PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet has decided to lift from now until Feb 28 next year, the blacklisting system which bans traffic offenders who fail to pay their summonses from renewing their licences and road tax, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.

He said, however, traffic offenders would still have to clear their existing summonses either by installment or full payment.

"We have also decided not to give any discount for the summonses issued.

"However, we urge these traffic offenders to pay up their summonses to avoid being blacklisted again after Feb 28, next year," he told reporters after chairing the post-Cabinet meeting here Wednesday.

He said the demerit system would not be enforced for the summonses that traffic offenders settled during the grace period.

So far, Kong said there were over 650,000 traffic offenders who had been blacklisted.

On saman ekor, he said it would continue to be issued during the same period.

"This is to ensure that there will be minimum contact between law enforcement officers and traffic offenders so that the rakyat will not have the perception of corruption among these officers," he said.

Kong said the ministry did not encourage enforcement officers to hide behind trees for enforcement purposes.

"Instead, we hope they can install enforcement cameras at accident-prone areas and set up signs to warn motorists of speed traps ahead," he said.

He said a better and improved enforcement system would be enforced after Feb 28, next year.

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