PETALING JAYA: With just 20 days left in 2025, millions of motorists who have yet to settle their traffic summonses risk being taken off the road as authorities tighten enforcement efforts against errant drivers.
There are 4.95 million unpaid Road Transport Department (JPJ) summonses worth RM1.48bil, while nearly RM6.6bil in outstanding police summonses have yet to be collected.
Motorists who fail to pay up risk more than just being barred from renewing their driving licence or road tax, or even face court action.
They may also lose their Budi95 entitlement as the petrol subsidy is tied to their driving licence.
Since November, JPJ and the police have been offering 50% to 70% discounts to encourage settlement of long-overdue traffic fines.
The amnesty ends on Dec 31.
A new “pay fast, pay less” system will take effect from Jan 1, 2026, introducing higher penalties for those who delay payment.
JPJ director-general Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli said that since the “grace period” began on Nov 1, motorists have settled only 362,230 of outstanding summonses worth RM47.85mil as of last Monday.
The amount constitutes about 7% of the total summonses.
Aedy told The Star that about 4.95 million summonses issued since 2010 remained unpaid.
To avoid enforcement, he urged drivers with outstanding summonses to pay the fines before the deadline.
When asked whether stern action would be taken against those who fail to settle their fines by the deadline, he said offenders would face blacklisting and court action that would prevent them from renewing their driving licences and road tax until the fines have been cleared.
Traffic regulations are in place to ensure vehicles are driven safely and responsibly, protecting all road users, he stressed.
“A sense of shared responsibility on the roads should be fostered to ensure the safety of all road users.
“Settling outstanding summonses reinforces adherence to established traffic laws.
“We must comply with traffic laws in efforts to build the ideal road safety culture,” he added.
Aedy said that in order to ease the process of settling summonses, motorists could access various JPJ channels, including the MyJPJ app, JPJ kiosks or the department’s offices to make payments.
Federal police Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said motorists’ response to the grace period since early last month has been overwhelming.
When asked about actions against motorists who still refused to settle their fines by year-end, he said they would be barred from renewing their vehicle road tax and have their records blacklisted.
“Yes, the response has been very encouraging, with a large number of motorists showing up daily to pay up.
“We advise motorists with outstanding and compoundable summons to take this opportunity to settle their fines at a discount, which will end on Dec 31, through the various modes of payment.
“We will await further instructions from the Transport Ministry on the next steps to be taken against motorists who fail to settle their fines by the deadline,” he told The Star when contacted.
Last month, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that traffic compounds issued by JPJ and the police would be standardised from Jan 1 next year with a new compound structure based on the principle of “the less you delay, the less you pay”, to replace existing traffic summons discount campaigns.
Under the new system, motorists will receive a 50% rebate when payment is made within 15 days and 33% within 30 days.
No discounts are given if fines are settled after 30 days, and those who fail to pay up their fines within 60 days will have their records blacklisted and face court action.
Prompted by the generous discounts of between 50% and 70% on fines, motorists with outstanding traffic summonses are scrambling to settle their traffic fines, making the ongoing and final discount campaign one of the busiest in recent years.
