Joint effort: Loke (second from left) together with Saifuddin Nasution posing for a picture during a press conference at Parliament. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: “The less you delay, the less you pay”. This will be the new approach to be taken by the police and the Road Transport Department (JPJ) from Jan 1 next year to get traffic offenders to settle their summonses.
Unlike previous programmes by the police and JPJ, where discounts on summonses differed between the two enforcement agencies, the new system will offer varying discounts depending on how fast they are settled.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the Cabinet agreed on Oct 17 to streamline summons discounts to avoid the perception that the law was applied inconsistently by the police and JPJ.
“We want to ensure a fairer and more consistent enforcement approach.
“Previously, there was confusion as to the differing rates and enforcement procedures between the JPJ and the police.
“It was decided that the summons discount programmes or special campaigns will be replaced by the principle that the less you delay, the less you pay beginning Jan 1 next year,” he said.
Under the new system, offenders who settle their summonses between one and 15 days will be given a 50% discount.
For those settling their summonses between 16 and 30 days, a 33% discount will be given.
“The full compound amount will be imposed on those who settle their summonses from 31 days to 60 days after issuance.
“A failure to settle the compound after 61 days will see offenders subjected to court proceedings,” he added.
This, he said, included blacklisting the vehicle and owner.
“The previous system of offering discounts only during special campaigns will be replaced, as it was unfair to those who paid their summonses early,” he added.
He said the new approach would serve as an incentive for motorists to pay their summonses promptly.
Loke noted that the new discount system is not applicable for serious traffic offences, such as driving without insurance or a commercial vehicle licence.
Loke said a special compound reduction of between 50% and 70% for JPJ and police summonses will be introduced from Nov 1 to Dec 30 this year, ahead of the full implementation of the new system.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said a total of RM640mil in outstanding summonses were collected under police discount programmes and special campaigns between 2022 and September this year.
The amount collected, he added, was derived from over 2.7 million settled summonses, following the provision of discounts that varied between 30% and 60% during that period.
He said that there was still RM6.6bil in outstanding summonses.
He said that his ministry and the Transport Ministry will hold talks to consider actions that can be taken against those who have yet to settle their outstanding summonses.
