Deputy transport minister Hasbi Habibollah said the new features found in the camera are expected to be able to detect the driver, vehicle number and capture the speed level of the vehicle, thus facilitating enforcement.

“The transport ministry and the road transport department (JPJ) are researching and considering a new direction with regard to the Automatic Awareness Safety System (Awas) cameras.

“Perhaps these cameras will be added but not in the current form (Awas), at new locations,” he said during the question and answer session in the Dewan Rakyat.

“However, the use of e-plates is still being studied. Our current study is on ways to determine those who have violated regulations and their driving licence, so in future more features will be added so as to obtain information on speed.”

He said this in response to a supplementary question from Suhaimi Nasir (BN-Libaran) who wanted to know what the government plans to do to reduce the rate of road accidents in Malaysia.

In reply to a supplementary question from Khairil Nizam Khirudin (PN-Jerantut) on the cost of the new camera, Hasbi said the matter is still in the research stage and the actual cost would only be announced after the camera is approved.

Replying to Suhaimi’s earlier question about the effectiveness of Awas cameras, Hasbi said a study by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research found that the level of compliance by road users at the location where the cameras were installed reached 99%.