PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar took the liberty today to explain to and educate members of the public about the new amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987, which took effect on Feb 1.

Not many people, he said, were aware of the law and among those who did, most did not understand many facets of the Act, and many too were still unaware of the amendments made last year.

NONE "It is important for members of the public to know their rights and where they stand," Mahfuz ( right ) told reporters at the Wangsa Maju RTD office.

"And when it comes to getting summonses, the people will, without fail, quickly pay them off without finding out from the authorities why they were issued with the notices. And that is why we are here today," he said.

Mahfuz, who is also the Kempen Anti-Saman Ekor (Kase) chairperson, expressed his concern that many people were still confused about the POL 170A notices they received from the RTD.

By right, Mahfuz said, those who received the notices should only fill up the form to state whether they were speeding during the alleged time or not. They should not just pay the amount - which would mean admitting to committing the offence.

'Static cameras must not be moved around'

Mahfuz also noted that under the amended Act , summonses were issued against a vehicle, and not against the owner of the vehicle.

NONE "It would be unreasonable for the driver or owner of the vehicle to be penalised. For instance, if you have three cars and a speeding ticket has been issued against one, and you get black listed, takkan you cannot use the other two vehicles?" he asked, adding that only the RTD could blacklist a vehicle, not the police.

Another aspect of the amended law was also raised by Mahfuz, concerning the function of the static camera (for speed traps).

Before the amendments were passed, Mahfuz explained, the cameras used by the police were portable, which was not recognised under the Road Transport Act.

"Now, it is required by law that the camera used must be of the static function type, which means the police would not and should not move the camera around as they liked.

"Apart from that, the RTD must put up a signboards alerting road users of speed traps 500 metres ahead.

"This is a form of education for the drivers, not to give them a chance to escape speeding. Apart from that, it would also be fair as still cameras are used. Unlike before, the police would sembunyi dan intai (hide and peek) from behind pillars or trees.

Mahfuz, along with other five members from PAS and Kase, spent two hours at the RTD office, explaining and giving answers to the people there.