Postal Summons - Wrong Way of Handling Summons

There is been a recent development about postal summons where Mahfuz Omar is going all round to "educate" people to go against postal summons. And given of the sheer volume of unpaid summons (17 million) as of Tuesday, the government is extending the half-price discount of summons until end of next Thursday (10). 

I do not wish to elaborate about extension about it is basically Malaysian culture to do everything last minute or so, and as such the electronic system gets clogged and jammed up hours before the deadline when everyone goes in to pay the summons. But what I find is a very sinister feeling is about why postal summons, which dated to offenses committed even up to 10 years ago! Most people don't really remember of small details or things that they did 10 years ago, only to see a summon letter coming in after many long years. 

If there is a problem of why all out of the sudden comes that, it simply reflects of poor handling of summons by the authorities. I would dare to say that there are imbeciles who absolutely said in the old archaic manner that postal summons must still remain whereas there are better ways, given of new technologies coming in and growing like a mushroom allows better ways of reaching to people and following up.

PAS has claimed that to blacklist a driver from renewing a driver's license or a road tax for not paying summons is tantamount to putting a person into ISA. This true, given of the present situation and much of the summons are issued before the Road Transport Act amendment which went on effect last month. And with that problem this clearly illustrates that the government's way of handling summons is wrong and it also reflects on how they have yet to understand human psychology in pursuing the amendments and enforcements.

It is understood that the bulk of summons are from speeding offenses. The numbers matches the conventional wisdom of "speed kills". However the problem here is many: speeding offense is easily traced and track. And as according to what Khir Toyo said, this creates the perception that the government is out to make more money instead of reducing accidents as intended. This is one of the ulterior motives. To makes things bad, when the AES system goes full operational by April, if there are no signs or warning of camera, and instead if it is misused just to make money for government without educating users, expect a mass backlash over a flawed method of enforcement. Expect more public anger and straining relationship between people and government.

Secondly, the problem is summon letters is that sometimes they do not have proof to back the claim that you have committed the offense or not. Until the amendment, the letter cannot be used as to final say that you did it or not, so it's bit hard to wipe off the case unless you bring it to the court to decide on it.

I've been observing all over and over again that the speed limits in certain roads are very unrealistic and inconsistent. For example, from Serdang to Kajang stretch, you are bound by a 90 k/m limit although you are in the highway that you can actually move to 110. This also applies after the Bukit Lanjan divider heading towards Jalan Duta, both are highways, yet it is inconsistent and you have a good road that is the highway! The speed limit of 110 at this time still remains unrealistic and I find it awkward for the then Deputy minister Donald Lim said that 110 is enough. No. It has to be increased to 120 or 130 given of how car technologies have improved and consider the traffic at highways is always smooth except on rainy and festive seasons.

I too agreed with Khir that many of us are not robots and sometimes, we don't see the heck of driving faster than the speed set there or because we are in the rush. The problem is lawmaking processes failed to take the human factor into consideration. Just because we go too fast doesn't mean that we are reckless all the way without knowing that we are in danger of an accident? It is also unfair to say that those who went 10-30 km/h more than usual should be given a compound summon (as with the amendment says) but it should be more structured, depending on speed severity.

Since the postal summons dating back to 2000 do not reflect the amended methods of enforcement started in February, it would be better to wipe the slate clean and start it again from scratch, starting with offences committed from 1 February 2011. Then it would be fair to all. Of course, those who paid would say it's not fair, but you might want to call for a rebate or something later on in either tax refunds or etc..

I would also suggest watching this video, as it too gives elaboration to what I mentioned above.

I'll Play Taffer at You!

So, it seems that Abdullah Badawi is somewhat gone up to fever pitch with a wavering threat against those who would be coming down for tomorrow's rally at Merdeka Square.

They say that the police is mounting roadblocks monitoring cars coming from Rawang, Seremban, and even the Karak Highway. They are threatening to stop and question any car coming to Kuala Lumpur. But I was in town, and I don't see any police trying to stop me and my car while on the way. I wonder if that's actually and empty threat and intimidation by the police?

The way the police acts has clearly violated Article 10 of the Consitituition which every citizen in Malaysia is entitled to. But then, don't they know that the king, the Agong is involved in this situation being at the end of the march? Have they all forgotten the second principle of Rukunegara? Kesetiaan Kepada Raja dan Negara?

The reason why the rally will be conducted is not because they want to, but they had to, forced to. It is like being put into the last resort. Clearly they have said that they had appealed to the government to do so but they were ignored, turned away by Abdullah Badawi and his cronies. If everything has been denied, while you are a worker, what else can you do except to hold a rally and report to the king that the government has failed to do what they should do to the people? I've already said many times that the police has long in brutality but short on foresight. The actions today indicate that they are cannon fodders for UMNO and they are not independent as what we perceive of them.

At the assembly today, Abdullah went fever pitch and gone CAPITAL LETTERS on some occasions, according to the Sun. The immortal phrase line in the article? "I will not be challenged!" The English saying, "Be careful what you wish for" seems appropriate for him as he might think himself being on the omnipotent position means there is no fall. Someday, he will. Picture this: will he for an unknown occasion he ended up like the fall of Tsar Nicholas II?

The reply, based on quotes in the Malaysiakini article and the Sun clearly gives the clear impression and implies that:

• 1. Abdullah Badawi has failed to fulfill his promise despite having many chances in his duty as PM as dictated in the 2004 General Election Manifesto. Corruption and crime rate still remains high and racial tensions still remain at high.
• 2. Abdullah Badawi is afraid to come out and face the truth of the current state of social affairs in Malaysia and prepared to correct his mistakes. Instead he cowers behind and gets the cannon fodder to do his work of suppressing the people. I wonder whether if this contradicts with one of the statements, the rally is against the law and the people.
  
• 3. Abdullah Badawi is not what it seems of people looking at him as Mr. Clean.
• 4. Abdullah Badawi is unwilling to face the problems that a leader expects in his power base.
• 5. Abdullah Badawi is running out of leadership ideas after all have been expended on expensive lavish projects. The ECER is one of the last bullets in his arsenal.

..and many mistakes that I can't seem to recall.

Simply put that Abdullah Badawi has made too many mistakes that cannot be tolerated anymore by country-loving citizens, those real patriots, not the ultra-nationalists. Mistakes that should have been corrected at first sign of danger but instead was ignored totally. Instead of admitting your mistake, he blamed the opposition as part of the tactic to overthrow or sway people confidence towards them. It is the one step backwards mentality of certain leaders in the country that the people had no confidence of. Someday, arrogance can be punished.

The real problem in the country's progress lies in certain policies deemed as third-world mentality rules by those who have achieved high level of awareness and those well educated to understand the rules in the current context. Many leaders have failed to see this in long term. So, if they can remove some things that are meant to fix those in the old days, the better it will be in long term.

No matter what is the outcome of the rally tomorrow, Abdullah Badawi will still end up in the losing situation. If everyone is aware of how brutal the police and you all in the government act at the end of tomorrow, expect to see many condemnations by international observers, thousands of court cases and perhaps the government will have to spend a lot of money to compensate the victims of potential brutality. He will end up like another Than Shwe, by attempting to suppress what people are entitled to.

If things go worst, they will end up paying tax payer's money back to the people in long term as damages and compensation because they start first beating people. They had guns and all those batons, gas grenades, while those who come for the rally had nothing at all. So if the government tries do the violent thing, people will have to disobey, using the Civil Disobedience principle. If this thing reaches international media from Al-Jazeera, CNN, and BBC via someone unknown, then we are likely to see our faces in the whole wide world and Malaysia will become a laughing stock because of the government.

There is little time left for Abdullah Badawi to correct his mistakes, and he has to do it now, starting with election reforms and the judicial crisis. If he decides to call election while this has not been solved, you might seeing a repeat of the 1999 elections, thankfully it's not going to be in this year, but somewhere in March. But the results is likely to follow the 1999 results.

If the police think that they are somewhat having a distinct advantage because of their equipment, you better be prepared to be sued in court and prepared to have all the money out to compensate the people if you are found responsible for the brutality. You can call me a taffer for such believes, but I am not partisan of any side. This is a two-sided view story.


For me? Well, I'll be having an appointment somewhere else, but in spirit, I'll bring a blackjack and some moss arrows. I'll hit them and the City Watch behind to set the truth free for everyone!

Big Mistake, Kiddo!

The march for fair and clean elections has received a severe setback as according to Malaysiakini and Bernama the police with advisement from the Internal Security Ministry has rejected a permit to hold this Saturday's rally and retaliated with the threat to arrest whoever is at the square participating in this illegal assembly.

It seems that the rejection is definitely part of the pressure by some senior politicians to block the move, fearing that it will cause panic and concern to the ruling government. So, it seems that Bedol Napoleon and his cronies are panic over the fact that it can undo their intentions of a Zero Opposition target. And this do imply that the police are their cannon fodder and number two, there is guilt in them that they wish to hide by preventing such assembly. Another thing is that I find that is unfair for them to hold an assembly whenever they wish but not to the others who do want to hold a non-violent assembly.

However, the organizers have received news that the King is interested in attending to this matter, and unless His Majesty steps in personally to instruct the police to give them time to do so, there will be likely a huge number of arrests and perhaps a repeat of the Batu Burok incident instigated by Special Branch.

A very bad mistake made by government and the police. This is indeed the lesser of the two evils as the greater evil lies in letting the corrupt and the hypocrite rig the elections and do the same thing that plunges Malaysia into an irredeemable abyss.

On a side note, since this side note fits the title, you will need to learn to hate the surveillance cameras installed around the city and perhaps in municipal cities later on, as these cameras can be used to put you into trouble over top driving offenses. IMHO, I have no objection to the latter four, but not on speeding. Because the constraints and exceptions are not mentioned definitely. For instance, does this apply to those who have to go to work everyday in the morning? I'm sure that it is manually observed and control, right? Secondly, there is a Chinese saying: Speed defines the winner. If you are fast enough provided you're able to control your vehicle well, you can save time, and can concentrate on doing other things. It will be more appropriate if the speed limit in every stretch of the road is increased by another 10 km/h. This was suggested many times but was ignored many times.

This week marks the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, which at the same time is the start of the UMNO General Assembly. On the 10th, it's the BERSIH march for fair elections.

If the might of people surpasses the number of government hypocrites and the police, this means that the people had won the battle in the quest to clean the judiciary crisis and the call for clean and fair elections. The police might not be able to contain or even detain despite the warning of illegal participation the expected turnover of 100000 this Saturday.

Anyone who had seen this Warren Beatty Russian Revolution epic Reds can notice in this scene, the march bearing a similar resemblance and outcome of what could be expected
this Saturday.

The Traffic Police: Watchers, Busybodys and Scum

I just finished work quite late today, at around 8. Probably the main reason was to let the traffic on the main road outside my office to die down. Traffic on Fridays are much terrible compared to other days. My finance manager's computer went down - the hard disk crashed and gone - and we were too late to call in the support call center. Seems like we had to wait until Monday when they open at 9 in the morning.

After I left office to go back to Ipoh, I stopped by a place called Tapah. I got clues from other good Samaritan drivers that there is likely to be a police roadblock - busybodies who are out to make extra cash by issuing summonses over people who might be speeding on the highway. Scum. Troublemakers. They sometimes can become this. This traffic police. If it's those guys dressing in blue uniforms, then it is likely they are hunting criminals. But this is hunting down drivers!?

Tapah has always been a common point for those fellows to look trouble and excuses out of people. But I believed that I was way lucky and unknowingly got the right timing. Moments after I pass the one lane choke point, the police officially opens their roadblock to business. Seems, like I was the last car to pass without being under scrutiny by those scum. Come on, if you happen to do this in the morning where people are going to work, you are likely to be sued by lawyers and companies for holding employees back. They've got an obligation and you're the one who's going to pay the compensation!

Later I went to dinner with my mother down town, I managed to take a picture of a police writing a summon of a car who was parking at one side but with no one inside. The officer was barking an order via a loudspeaker demanding the driver to move out before he starts writing. Okay, that's a clear reason, but the reason having the picture is to show that at times, those fellows can misuse their right as police officers and start looking for trouble.

If you are sure that you're observing your driving code correctly but got a ticket for that, something's wrong. Throw that ticket off and start bringing in your lawyers or go to the station, ask for the identity of the officer responsible for that and don't pay at all! Keep arguing until you win the fight and demand they compensate you 10 fold for wasting your time? Will you be satisfied over this? Hell, I would! Haha!

The City Watch in Thief III will attack Garrett on sight no matter what he does, even if he does not do anything at all. He has been a marked man and there are posters of him out there with a bounty offered on whoever tries to capture him. Still nobody could claim the bounty. But there are times, it can be funny to frame a fellow mercenary for an attack of an officer's colleague or something. You just go and whack a City Watch fella and make the other guy see the mercenary and they'll start attacking each other. It's the A.I's logic: framing!

If I had enough of playing the story of Deadly Shadows over and over again, I just might want to play something for fun. In one of the City's sections, the Old Quarter, on the exit to Auldale, you can have plenty of fun whacking the City Watch over and over again. If you want to rebel against authority but could not do so, you can do it here! You just need to spend 30 minutes plus minus to do all you want.

First thing, you need to extinguish the torches on the main courtyard so that you have enough cover to move around without being spotted on sight. Of course you don't go to that electrical light platform! Then you might want to stock up on some gas arrows and bombs. This is where you can try to get all the guard quotes of each guard. My favorite guard would be the Smithy guard, he has that confidence and the aggression compared to Benny or the Smart guy. You might want to isolate those fellas one by one before you start spooking him, and he has the humor in his lines!

Whack this guy, use noisemaker to spook them up, do all you want. When you have enough, then quit to Windows. Fun!? No I don't think it's fun, but it's some way to take out the aggression.

Troublemakers.