Malaysia Traffic Police To Improve Transparency on Traffic Summonses

29 April 2011 - Malaysia is heading towards increased transparency. From May 1, police will issue summonses with photographs of vehicles violating traffic regulations in areas monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV). Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said Thursday that the new procedure would be used for all traffic offences, including speeding and failure to use seat belts.

He expects the new procedure to leave little chance of mistaken identity. "But if there are still people who claim that police have got the wrong vehicle (even with a picture attached to the summons), they should produce evidence of the mistake at any traffic counter," he told reporters here.

In areas without CCTV, summonses will be issued as usual by traffic officers, Khalid said.
Khalid said the top police management had received many complaints about policemen and officers refusing to take reports from the public. He said this errant behaviour was discussed in the Delivery Task Force meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in Putrajaya Thursday. Khalid told the public that the next time a policeman refused to take their report, they should note his number.

The deputy IGP also said stern action would be taken against any police personnel found to have refused to accept a report from a member of the public. In a separate announcement, the Deputy IGP confirmed that fines will be issued with photographs taken at the instance of traffic rule violation to lower the chance of mistaken identity and any resulting disputes. Of course, capturing the traffic offence on camera can only happen in areas monitored by closed-circuit television surveillance, which is not all that common in Malaysia.