First there was - Saman Ekor. Now, there is - Saman Kamera

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From the Malaysian Insider:‘Controversial’ speed cameras among new road laws tabledA controversy over speed camera technology will be reignited today when the government tables 50 amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987, as critics say the RM700 million project is using faulty systems.Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha told The Malaysian Insider that the government has yet to award the tender for the Automatic Enforcement System (AES) until the new law is passed to allow photographs to be used as evidence in traffic court.“There are many other amendments to the law that are very important too but this part is being highlighted. When road accidents happen, people always tell the government to impose stricter laws to curb offences on the road,” he pointed out.Kong said the government had not imposed any deadline on when it planned to award the tender but stopped short of disagreeing that two companies had already been selected to set up unmanned speed cameras at nearly 1,000 hotspots across the country. There have been complaints that the two companies are using technologies that have led to millions in lawsuits abroad.When approached by Kong’s predecessor in Parliament yesterday, however, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat confirmed that Letters of Intent (LOI) had already been issued for the companies following the live demonstration involving seven interested firms held between June 17 and July 21, 2007.“The contract has not been awarded yet, that is true, but there are the LOIs. At that point in time when I was still the transport minister, we decided that it would only be right for us to award the tender to these two companies after we have passed the [amendments to the] legislation.“Otherwise, it would not have been right,” Ong told The Malaysian Insider.The two firms that scored top marks during the demonstration were Commerical Circle (M) Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd, both of which allegedly do not possess Intellectual Properties (IPs) for their respective systems — the Redflex (Australia) and Robot (Germany).But other bidders for the contract have since complained that the two companies had not followed specifications during the demonstration and had given more prominence to detecting offences instead of the accuracy of their readings.One firm, Tess Capital Sdn Bhd of Tess Group, has already lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the matter, complaining that it had been sidelined.The MSC-status firm has claimed that it was officially recognised as an AES supplier by the New South Wales government after it had passed an 18-month trial in 2008. It has also apparently spent millions in research and development on its technology.Sources have also told The Malaysian Insider earlier that both the Redflex and Robot systems had landed Australia’s Road Transport Authority (RTA) in the soup after inaccurate readings forced law-abiding motorists to pay traffic summonses.One source also claimed that the US Supreme Court was once even told by a Redflex director that the company had been using uncertified equipment to win contracts and to enforce fines on motorists.“Ultimately, this means that we could be forced to pay fines for offences that we never committed,” said the source.In several articles published in the Australian media, it was reported that both the Redflex and Robot systems had failed on numerous occasions.In one 2006 article obtained by The Malaysians Insider, it was reported that Robot had to recall all 19 of its traffic cameras in Adelaide after it supposedly issued inaccurate tickets.In another article ran by ABC News on October 18 this year, it was reported that the Victoria police had to suspend the use of the point-to-point cameras operated by Redflex on its Hume Highway after nine motorists were penalised for offences they did not commit.Other reports also claimed that the Australian RTA had been forced to refund summonses, amounting to nearly RM9 million, to innocent motorists over the past few years.But Ong claimed today that the AES was long overdue, despite admitting that several firms that lost during the demonstration process had raised a hue and cry over the allegedly “unfair” award to the two companies.“But there was nothing much I can do because the live demonstration was witnessed by anti-corruption agency representatives, even a judge if I am not mistaken and many other authorities, to see if the pictures can be accepted in a court of law,” he said.When pointed out that the two technologies which would supposedly be used in Malaysia had been proven faulty abroad, Ong said: “It is a long story. But then, of course people, when they want to justify their cause, certainly they would cite extreme examples and vice-versa.”He insisted that the purpose of the AES was to curb corruption among traffic officials, pointing out that summonses could not be so easily issued against innocent motorists.“Otherwise, there can be all sorts of monkey business. I would say to stamp out graft is of prime importance here and the possibility of reducing offences on the road.“Of course, it is also not the government’s intent at the end of the day to see concessionaires making hefty profits out of this deal,” he said.The AES issue was also raised in Parliament by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong during the debate on the Budget 2011 in October.In his speech, Wee had called on the government to rescind its commitment to the two firms and call for an open tender to identify the best firm, instead of the selective tender it had called for in 2007.According to previous media reports, the AES, mooted some time in 2005, was aimed at helping the government lower the number of deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles to two from 3.7 in 2007.Besides speeding, the system is also able to detect offenders for beating traffic lights, overtaking from the left, driving over double lines, tailgating, driving on the emergency lane and even overloaded vehicles. The AES is also able to take photos of vehicles speeding simultaneously and motorcycles.At present, there are some 17.971 million vehicles on the road.Salut