The police are looking into the possibility of suspending the licenses of 1.7 million errant motorists during their nationwide Ops Warta crackdown, said Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar.

He revealed that the police would issue arrest warrants for those who failed to settle their traffic summonses for various offences, such as speeding, beating red lights and overtaking on the double line.

The move would first begin with motorists and drivers of commercial vehicles, as they represented the highest number of traffic offenders and fatalities.

"It is time for us to do something drastic and ensure they abide by traffic regulations.

"Normally, those blacklisted would not be able to renew their licenses or road tax. We want to go one step further by suspending their licenses as well," Khalid was quoted as saying by the Star .

He pointed out that those blacklisted were motorists who received summonses physically, and not via post.

Khalid also revealed that Ops Warta was set to take over Ops Selamat this month as police had not seen improvements in motorists’ attitude during the 15-day Hari Raya crackdown.

The number of fatal accidents had increased by 32 cases, from 228 to 258, while the number of deaths saw a spike of 49 cases – from 243 to 292 in a span of two weeks.

"This shows that more aggressive enforcement is needed to change the attitude of motorists," he said.

Khalid said police would work in tandem with the Road Transport Department (JPJ) and Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) to amend the law to allow the suspension of motorists' licenses.