Some 100 protesters today gathered in front of the Road Transport Department office in Ipoh to urge the government to cancel the setting up of the new Automated Enforcement System (AES) for traffic offences.

setiausaha pelaksana gerakan mansuhkan ppsmi gmp saifullah zulkifli PKR Youth assistant secretary Saifullah Zulkifli ( left ) said the one-hour gathering, which began at 10am, was merely the start of an ongoing campaign, with protests to be organised in every state.

“We are organising this into a people’s movement. (We) will collect signatures in protest and will go to from state to state to demonstrate.

“This gathering is also aimed at making the rakyat aware that the government’s actions in implementing the AES only serves to burden and terrorise the people, who are already feeling the squeeze due to economic constraints,” he said when contacted by Malaysiakini .

The morning’s demonstration was also attended by Teja assemblyperson Chang Li Kang, who is also a state PKR leader.

Saman Rakyat 1Malaysia or SR1M

The group was heard crying out “ Hidup rakyat (long live the people)” and “ Kroni kaya rakyat derita (Cronies get rich while the people suffer)” during the demonstration, while carrying signs and banners which read, “Say no to AES” and “ Beri rebat RM200, kena saman RM300 (Give RM200 rebate, but RM300 fine)”.

NONE They further mocked the system with a banner declaring the AES to be “Saman (Summon) Rakyat 1Malaysia (SR1M)” - in reference to the similar-sounding government Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) cash aid.

Chang ( right, in blue ), meanwhile, said reception towards the morning’s gathering was encouraging, with the public blaring their horns or waving at them to show support.

“RTD staff did come out but they merely looked. We did this in front of the RTD (office) as we wanted to convince them to cancel the AES, or if not, we will organise an even bigger gathering,” Chang said.

As of Sept 23, up to 14 AES cameras were installed in various accident hotspots in the Klang Valley and Perak.

According to RTD deputy director-general Ismail Ahmad, the department is aiming to install another 831 AES cameras nationwide in stages, within 18 months.

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