Tickets for minor offenses, such as turning without signaling, will now have reduced fines, Police Internal Security and Public Order Director Mustafa Abdullah told the New Straits Times newspaper.

Lower fines may ensure people pay their tickets instead of bribing officers to avoid tickets, Mustafa said.

Traffic fines were also being slashed because the cost of living has ballooned with escalating gas prices, he added.

A traffic police spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the initiative will be evaluated to see if it should be made permanent. "We will take a month or two to conduct our surveys and gauge the public's response," the officer said.

An average of 11,000 traffic tickets are issued to offenders daily in Malaysia, but many are ignored by motorists.

Mustafa was in a meeting Tuesday morning and unable to answer a reporter's phone call.