PUTRAJAYA: The summons of the RM435mil in unpaid automated enforcement systems (AES) would not have benefited the government, because the collection would instead have gone to two concessionaires, said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said that the agreement that the previous government had formed with the concession holders was so "skewed" that the two companies would easily get profit and return on their investments.
"The collection would go to the two companies operating the AES, because of the unilateral agreement that was signed with the previous government in 2012," Loke said during a press conference at his ministry on Monday, August 20.
He said there were two levels in the agreement with the operators, adding that under the first layer the government pays RM16 to the operators for each individual summons, regardless of whether the summons is paid.
"In 2012, 312,587 subpoenas were issued, for which the operators earned RM5.001.392 of the RM16 payment, but only 23,640 calls from the total were settled," Loke explained.
He said that under the second tier, the companies would receive 50% of RM300, for each summons paid, adding that of the 23,640 subpoenas that were paid, the two companies earned RM1,045,304 in 2012.
Loke added that in 2016 the previous government reduced the AES calls to RM150 from RM300.
"Since the agreement for Tier 2 was that the company receives 50% of the RM300 for the summons being paid, this means that after 2016, every amount paid for the summons will go to the two operators in full.
"Therefore it is better to cancel the unpaid summons," Loke said.
The minister said that the two companies, Syarikat ATES Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd, have so far raked RM129,097,436 from Tier 1 and Tier 2 payments.
"In 2015, the government ordered LTAT (Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera) to take over the two companies, the government used RM555mil LTAT's money as compensation for the two companies.
Loke said that the assets of the companies were only 47 speed cameras in the country, of which only 38 are operational.
He added that the cost of one camera is about RM250,000, which meant that the companies invested a little more than RM10mil to install the 47 cameras.
"The companies not only got their investments back easily, but also benefited," Loke said.
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