KL, 16 March: Takiyuddin Hassan's admission that the RM10,000 compound "wouldn't be appropriate for minor violations such as not wearing a face mask" [read Gtovt to spell out offences for RM10,000 compound] is so welcomed. Like rain on a hot day. Alas, the Law Minister's statement can do nothing to wash away the mud and the dirt and the sumpah-seranah that the people have been slinging at Muhyiddin Yassin's Government for coming up with the ridiculous compound in the first place. It was an ordinance passed unilaterally by lawmakers like Takiyuddin himself as Parliament has been suspended because of the state of Darurat that the King, on the advice of the Prime Minister, had proclaimed in January.
If anything, the admission confirms the fact that this Government doesn't really know what it's doing most of the times.
That it is, indeed, uncaring and out of touch.
Same thing with the preposterous RM100,000 fine for so-called fake news on Covid-19. What were they thinking, eh, YB Takiyuddin?
Read also: Confusion over ways to appeal RM10k fine. Everyone's confused, even the health state authorities that are said to be the ones you see if you're appealing :) DAP, PKR to anyone issued RM10k compound ,,, One thing this Government is good at: making the Opposition look good :)
The problem with Malaysians is that the public, law enforcement and policymakers talk over each other at cross purposes. The issue was never about increasing the limit from RM1k to RM10k for individuals (or RM50k for companies). The real issue is with allowing the police to issue instant fines of RM10k. Didn't we go through the same problem when the police were given the power to issue RM1k fines? Why are we not addressing the real problem?
ReplyDeleteMahkamah Syariah's limit is RM5k, and that is the maximum for a Syariah judge. A first class Magistrate may not, however, impose a fine exceeding RM10,000 (second class Magistrate's limit is RM1k). Are you telling me the police are given powers that rivals a first class magistrate?
The police's job should be to book and issue a summon based on the offence recorded, and they could recommend a fine, but anything above a certain amount (say RM1k) should be subjected to court process. Learn from UK's experience, look at how Singapore is doing it. Don't be daft!
How much anyone is willing to wager the current U-turns will still miss the forest from the trees? The principle of the matter is not wrong, and if it is the flawed implementation that is at fault, fix that! As usual, mark my words, stupidity will reign supreme.
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-police-to-stop-issuing-10-000-super-fines-over-concerns-they-can-be-challenged-in-court-12134839?fbclid=IwAR2FilDHn7sW8auWM-GG5V_eoNxv-x-WgNKOSRChpWt8a3OCctT-lcAadBI
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/02/21/singapore-over-8600-fines-totalling-over-s25m-issued-for-breach-of-covid-19-safety-measures?fbclid=IwAR1-QkgtezHpD_PDEj0DwcoGZFmKvN4wU58oDuOAmpRg8WPH2GgzhyrwuPU