KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Life pressures should never be used to justify the breaking of traffic regulations, the city’s top cop has said amid a month-long city-wide police operation to crackdown on lawbreaking road users.
City police Chief Commissioner Datuk Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said that even the most basic traffic rules such as beating the red light are violated by motorists daily, noting that far too many are ignorant of the fact.
“We understand the economic situation faced by the people and wish not to be troublesome but life pressures cannot be used as an excuse to break the law.
“When are we going to start obeying these basic rules? This is the purpose of our operation,” he said during a briefing at the Jalan Bukit Bintang intersection earlier.
The notable intersection was one of several key locations in the city centre under the ‘Respecting Traffic Regulations Operation’ launched by the Kuala Lumpur contingent headquarters this month.
Mohd Suhaily also assured that no traffic summons discount will be given as long as he remained the city’s top cop.
“If we want to educate, we have to be consistent in what we do,” he said, adding that the operation’s ultimate aim was to cultivate law-abiding culture amongst road users which could then be adopted by other states in Malaysia.
The month-long operation is categorised into seven areas of focus, namely illegal parking and touts; vehicle registration plates; beating the red light; education and awareness; motorcycles; illegal tinting and road intersection violations.
On criticism of the implementation of the operation during peak hours, Mohd Suhaily acknowledged the setbacks faced by motorists but stressed that there was a need for sacrifice and compromise.
“This has never been done during peak hour. This is the first. We understandably wish not to trouble people but at the same time, we have to sacrifice to restore our dignity as a law-abiding metropolis.
“When visitors observe traffic violations in the city, how do we expect people to respect us? We have world-class infrastructures but our mentality is still lacking,” he said.
