What an ingenuous face-saving damage control exercise, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail's clarifications of laws on traffic offence in Police lawful in traffic summonses blitz, Op Warta II on: AG (May 8)!

The AG said that Ops Warta II scheduled to begin May 16 would go on as planned to enable police to serve the notifications and summonses by registered post allowed and provided for in the Road Transport Act 1987.

This is a big twist to the original expressed objective of Ops Warta II which was to round up and punish those who have yet to settle their traffic offence notices and summonses. The police tried to put the onus on the motorists to find out if they had committed any offences at police stations — which was not a lawful procedure as some officials noted.

The AG further said that according to the law, the notice is deemed to have been served (on the motorist) once the registered post is sent to the proper address, even if the individual did not receive it or if the individual chooses to ignore the reminder that he has a registered letter waiting for him at the post office.

In response to this, it is highly contentious that in a case involving an offence — even if a traffic violation — the notice could be "deemed" served when it was posted but not actually received. Indeed, the AG, in the next breath, admitted that the contention could be challenged in court which implied that his argument of "deemed served" is just his interpretation of what he thinks could be but may not be the law because if it were otherwise, this point will be above challenge in court.

The Ops Warta II blitz was launched on the assumption that the police do not have to prove anything or meet any condition before taking action.

Therefore to say that the AG's clarification confirms the legality of Op Warta II is plainly wrong. It would be more correct to say that the AG's clarifications show in a diplomatic fashion the way Ops Warta II should proceed by superimposing on its earlier stated purpose, this new purpose for the police to serve summonses so that public attention might be deflected from the earlier errors.

Summarising, it must be said to the AG's credit, his clarifications in a five-page press statement are by and large (1) a correct statement of law consistent with what Dr Rais Yatim has stated, and yet (2) presented in such a package that suitably camouflages and deflects attention from the wrong legal principles upon which Ops Warta II has earlier been launched and at the same time (3) now allow the operation to retract and take a turn to proceed regularly for the purpose of enabling the police "to serve the notifications and summonses".

What a masterpiece of diplomacy to assuage all ruffled feathers and appease all quarters in different Ministries and Departments! It also appeases the motoring public. We don't have to line up at the police stations to enquire about offences. We will address this issue only when the traffic police notify us and serve the notices and summonses on us when they catch up with us in the course of Ops Warta II!