We often see high government officials and VIPs being escorted past traffic jams and stop lights, while the regular Malaysians had to spend hours a day stuck in traffic. However, what if a state government official was caught taking advantage of the emergency lanes to beat the traffic, especially without a PDRM escort?
Recently, a video showing a car believed to belong to a Johor State Government official, using the emergency lane to avoid a traffic jam ahead went viral online, with many netizens calling out the double standard.
Following the incident, the police opened an investigation into the incident and later issued a ticket to the Johor State Government Executive Committee (Exco) chairman for committing the traffic offence.
According to Bernama, Batu Pahat district police chief ACP Ismail Dollah said the driver of the black Toyota Camry was called to the district Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Division on Friday (16 September) to record his statement for the offence.
He also revealed that the vehicle was identified as being reserved for the use of the Johor State Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon.
The case was investigated per Rule 6(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 (Rule 6(1) LN 166/59).
Ismail Dollah said the investigation found that the offence occurred at Jalan Tongkang Pechah here at 9.45 am last Monday (12 September).
Meanwhile, it was reported that Ling apologised for the error. Ling said that he was riding in the vehicle’s passenger side at the time of the incident and as he was in a rush, the driver entered the emergency lane near an intersection to make a turn.
He was on his way from Yong Peng to Batu Pahat.
This is one incident that showed the VIPs are not above the law. Nonetheless, we hope that this will be a lesson for VIPs in the country to stay abiding by the law.
What do you think about this? Share your thoughts!
