The fine imposed on a top officer of the Road Transport Department (RTD) for driving on the emergency lane proves the transparency of the country’s legal system, said Deputy Transport Minister Abd Aziz Kaprawi.

He said the court’s decision also proved that every individual is subject to the law, regardless of his status and background.

“Anyone who violates the law will face legal action. This is in line with the government’s aspiration to reduce accident rates and to be fair to all,” he told a press conference after attending the convocation ceremony of the Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology in Johor Baru today.

Abd Aziz said this in response to the media report about RTD deputy director-general (Planning and Operations) Yusoff Ayob being fined RM600 by the Putrajaya Court after he pleaded guilty to driving on the emergency lane at Lingkaran Putrajaya at 6.27 pm on Oct 7 last year.

In a separate development, Abd Aziz who is also Umno supreme council member, said the government would have to consider several factors, including the viability factor, before deciding to implement the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project in other states of the country.

The deputy minister said the project would be implemented on a need-basis.

“If Johor Baru (for example) has a need for it and if it is viable, then it will be implemented,” he said.

“The future of transportation in Malaysia is rail (train) and we have made a drastic transformation by introducing, among others, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the High-Speed Rail (HSR) projects which connected all the towns in the country,” he added.

-- Bernama