Those who were able to pay by scanning their QR codes considered themselves lucky, but after their numbers ran out, they were forced to wait and settle their dues at the police counters specially set up at the stadium complex.
The crowd had started to arrive as early as 8am, and three hours later, more than 4,000 people had registered in the queuing system, with fewer than 200 people having been served.
As the frustration and anger built up, many slammed the organisers for their poor management of the programme.
They complained of a lack of parking space, insufficient signboards, poor crowd control, not enough payment counters, and the slow payment process.
Andy Chiew, 43, from Rawang, said he received different instructions from different officers on the ground on where the payment counters were located.
Instead, he said, he had to walk for 30 minutes round the stadium compound before he found the place.
“Initially, I went to the JPJ counter and was told that it was for licence renewal, while there was another long queue for free helmet distribution.
“The people queuing up told me where the police counters were as the organisers there (JPJ counter) had no idea,” he told FMT.
Jhoell Harriyson, 40, said the decision to hold the programme only in Kuala Lumpur had forced many people from all over the country to travel to Bukit Jalil.
A woman, who only wanted to be known as Aman, criticised the authorities for holding the discount promotion on the same day as the Malaysia Cup final, causing traffic congestion since early morning.
She said the “chaos” would surely worsen in the late afternoon and evening.
Aman also said a smoother summons payment process would reduce the risk of Covid-19 infections spreading, especially as Malaysia was experiencing a spike in the number of cases.
“We are suffering, running here and there, with no ample parking. Many events clashing at the same time only spell trouble,” she said.
On Monday, Bukit Aman traffic investigation and enforcement department director Azman Ahmad Sapri announced that the police will be offering discounts of up to 50% for selected traffic summonses, in conjunction with the Madani government’s first anniversary, at the stadium compound.
The promotion will continue from 9am to 6pm until Sunday.