AMPANG – As part of its New Year’s resolution, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) plans to introduce the centralised i-Sekat system this year against business owners who refuse to pay outstanding traffic summonses and parking compounds.
MPAJ president Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim told The Vibes that the proposed smart monitoring system will blacklist business operators from renewing their business licences in order to recover outstanding traffic and parking compounds.
“We will also take action according to the provisions of the law, including bringing the errant offenders to court,” he said.
He was responding to The Vibes’ enquiry whether MPAJ would emulate the flat rate campaign of RM10 for unpaid traffic compounds issued by Subang Jaya City Council from October 1 until the end of last year.
Fauzi was also asked to comment about the 2022 year-end two-month initiative by Kajang Municipal Council to provide a discount up to 90% for violators of several by-laws, and a flat rate of RM10 for outstanding parking compounds.
The MPAJ president asserted that obstructing business licence renewals as well as other legal avenues have been proven effective by several local governments, which include Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), Selayang Municipal Council, Seremban City Council, and Kuching South City Council (MBKS).
“Last week, I visited MBKS and they shared their experience in managing the accumulation of summonses, as well as dealing with errant offenders.
“The Kuching local government has been consistently firm on enforcement and executing actions according to the law,” he said, adding that MBKS’ efforts were also lauded by politicians in Sarawak’s capital.
He also said that MPAJ officers would undergo training this month in local councils that are already recovering unpaid summonses via a centralised review system and other effective processes.
“The MPAJ personnel will learn how to implement i-Sekat effectively. At the same time, we will identify the best practices and suitable mechanisms MPAJ can apply within our jurisdiction and capacity,” he added.
However, Fauzi did not provide details on the methods the council would apply against stubborn private vehicle owners.
According to the Hansard of the Selangor assembly, 274,056 offenders did not clear the summonses issued by MPAJ from 2014 until 2017, while RM17.47 million was recovered by the council during the same period.
Seven years ago, then-deputy transport minister Datuk Aziz Kaprawi had stated that only traffic offenders with outstanding summonses under the Road Transport Act 1987 were blacklisted.
The Sun Daily had previously reported that only three local governments were given access to integrate with the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) system, allowing the department to blacklist vehicles with outstanding traffic summonses.
They were Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Petaling Jaya City Council, and MBSA.
Aziz had also confirmed that blacklisting by RTD will not be applicable for unpaid parking compounds issued by local councils.
“For example, if you don’t pay parking fees for designated parking bays provided by local councils and receive summonses, it is only an offence under local government by-laws such as the Road Traffic Order (Metered Car Park) and Road Traffic Order (Provision Regarding Car Parks),” he had said.
He also said that 125 local councils had applied to link up with the RTD’s database to obtain the addresses of vehicle owners who did not settle their compounds.
“This is just to share data with local councils for them to send out reminders to car owners to settle unpaid fines, and not for blacklisting (road tax),” Aziz had clarified. – The Vibes, January 4, 2023
