Anthony Loke said half of AwAS fines will be used to fund road safety efforts.......opinion.

 I beg to differ, but the moment Minister Loke said this, I think many people will want to intentionally speed on the road and pay fines. They will want to intentionally pay fines and will be very upset if they are not fined because many Malaysians are tired that the government is not allocating enough for road safety efforts. Soon, there will be mat rempit charity road racing organized on the roads to raise funds to repair streetlamps. The punishment via fines can be abused by netizens who want to contribute funds to repair streetlamps. The initiative by Minister Loke will never solve the problem and only increase the risks of road accidents, rendering the AwAS system useless as many people will pay fines to contribute to the government. This will make the road more dangerous! The Budget 2025 had already been criticized by some as not having high allocation for road safety efforts every year. Honestly, if I had the choice, I will speed on the road so I can contribute funds for the efforts! If I donated to the government to build streetlamps, many people will say I am corrupt and I can get into trouble with MACC. Therefore if I speed on the road, sure I will know my money is going to fund streetlamps on the road.

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The only proper way to really fund road safety efforts is to install a toll booth on the road. Malaysians will never be afraid to pay fines but they will be scared of tolls! Even if the police issue compounds and summons for speeding and road traffic offences, Malaysians will wait till summons discounts are offered during the next Malaysia Madani carnival. With toll booths, Malaysians will be very afraid! They will think twice before speeding on the road! I believe police officers will agree with what I say, ten thousand percent.

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The toll booth can be installed at dangerous locations so that motorists will slow down to pay the toll. At the same time, the road can be privatized and managed by a private company. This will not only raise enough funds quickly to install streetlamps, but also improve the shoddy conditions of roads in Malaysia. Just look at the Federal Highway. Ever since the toll at Batu Tiga and Sungai Rasau have been scrapped on 1st January 2018, the motorcycle lanes at the highway have been in bad shape and motorcyclists don't even dare use the road, causing motorcycles to drive on the main highways and even cars to enter the motorcycle lanes. These tolls should be re-instated, including the toll at Jalan Kuching as well as the Salak Expressway.

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Tolls are not just effective in reducing accidents, but also promoting public transportation usage. In case of a high surplus in funds, the government can consider to allocate some of the funds to build more LRT and MRT lines. Minister Loke knows the only way to reduce accidents and congestion is to build more tolls. Only when the word "toll" is mentioned, Malaysians will be more afraid and will be better behaved on the road than terms like AwAS or saman. The latter two will make them even more braver to pay the fines. Toll is more effective. I hope the Minister can consider this carefully. This is why Genting Highlands is building two tolls on the way up to Resorts World Genting - to reduce accidents and ensure motorists are better behaved on the road.