POOR planning has led to the long lines of people who wanted to pay their traffic summonses at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC), putting them at risk of contracting Covid-19, said the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).

MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said proper planning should have been done before authorities announced the discounts for traffic summonses.

“In view of this, they (authorities) should have made necessary improvements to online payment channels,” he told Free Malaysia Today.

He said while the discounts are welcomed, the implementation is poor, adding that “the government should be preventing, not encouraging, crowds”, hence online payment channels are the best option.

Police’s MyBayar Saman portal and the Road Transport Department’s (RTD) MySikap online system crashed due to an overload of visitors, who wanted to take advantage of the 80% discounts on summonses, according to the report.

Dr Koh said police and the department should focus on online payments for the payment of summonses.

“If there is any issue with the app or portal, it should be rectified, improved and tested before any announcement is made.”

Such events can become superspreading events, especially when the country should be concerned about Omicron, he added.

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had yesterday said the payment counter at KLCC will be closed, while the RTD announced that the discount period has been extended to December 15.

The discounts offered are part of the 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia event.

Photos of the crowds have gone viral, with Ipoh Barat MP M. Kula Segaran questioning why the government is investing in 5G when it is still making people queue up during a pandemic.

“Why invest in 5G, when the government still makes people queue in lines to pay their summonses during a pandemic?” he tweeted.

The Health Ministry had yesterday fined event organisers RM1,000 for breaching standard operating procedures.

The 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia event is organised by the Shared Prosperity Delivery Unit under the Prime Minister’s Department. – December 11, 2021.