Parking dodgers, beware! Kuala Lumpur is no longer a safe haven for those avoiding parking fees.
With four new parking operators appointed to manage the city's 59,000 street parking bays, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is ramping up enforcement like never before.
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With four new parking operators appointed to manage the city's 59,000 street parking bays, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is ramping up enforcement like never before.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Residents of Taman Desa and Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park in Kuala Lumpur
00:07were surprised to see private parking operators, appointed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall or DBKL,
00:13conducting parking enforcement in their neighbourhoods.
00:16The operators, wearing vests with DBKL logos,
00:20used automatic number plate recognition devices
00:23to identify vehicles without valid parking payments.
00:27In one sweep along Jalan 2-109F,
00:31operators found that only 1 out of 30 scanned vehicles had paid for parking.
00:36Information about non-paying vehicles
00:39was immediately forwarded to enforcement officers for summons issuance.
00:43Similar scanning operations were conducted at Kuchai Entrepreneurs Park
00:48with banners displayed throughout the area
00:50reminding motorists of DBKL's parking regulations.
00:55The citywide initiative aims to boost parking revenue
00:58with operators required to scan at least 1,000 vehicles daily.
01:03However, the system faces several challenges.
01:06An industry insider emphasised that enforcement must be immediate to be effective
01:11as delays encourage people to revert to non-payment habits.
01:15Local residents expressed mixed reactions to the new system.
01:18Taman Desa residents Ko Sui Heong called for swift enforcement action
01:23while Wong Chan Choi warned that without timely implementation,
01:26the system could become another failed attempt
01:29to address Kuala Lumpur's parking issues.
01:32The problem here is the notification of summons.
01:36If physical summons are not issued immediately,
01:39then the person will not be able to pay.
01:44The second thing is that now the contractor takes the photo
01:49and then sends it to the centre in DBKL to issue summons.
01:55Then it's subject to negotiation.
01:58The contractor can keep the photo and wait for the car owner to come
02:03and negotiate for a certain payment without sending the photo to the centre
02:08and then delete the photo.
02:10So another better system is immediately when you take the photo,
02:13it's automatically sent to the centre, so not up to negotiation.
02:17That is maybe a better system to implement.
02:22Suddenly when I walked around, there was one or two contractors
02:27who were taking photographs and they were issuing summons.
02:33Some residents were not happy because they didn't have a hard copy of the summons.
02:40Another resident, Jaclyn Chin, said many residents were unaware of the new system.
02:45For me, I didn't even know that we have to pay parking
02:50until I spotted someone scanning the cars.
02:54So he passed me this and then only I realised that we have to pay parking
03:00through whatever app set is on this paper.
03:03There should be more banners for awareness.
03:06I believe many will not know.
03:08Some days they are just for a quick grab of things and they don't pay
03:13because they are not aware.
03:15Wong also said DBKL should have conducted dialogue sessions to inform residents.
03:21We should have a dialogue with all the residents to inform.
03:26But especially in this area, Jalan Desa, Danau Desa, in front there is a condo.
03:31I mean there is only one car park.
03:32Most of the cars, more than one car park outside and they are not alert.
03:36I mean if they are not informed about the summons,
03:38they will keep on paying the summons without knowing anything at all.
03:42I think it's not fair to residents here.
03:44Senior citizens have reportedly found adapting to the new system particularly challenging.
03:50Basically, the procedures are not very clear, especially for older generation.
03:56The old people find it struggling how to manage it, how to pay and those sort of things.
04:02So I think these things should be made clear before we talk about enforcement and all.
04:08Basically, we need to be guided.
04:11And if they don't do a proper communication process,
04:17then people just get angry about being fined and what not.
04:23Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohamad Sharif
04:27said DBKL's citywide parking enforcement strategy
04:31is part of a broader plan to improve compliance with parking regulations.
04:36She adds through this privatisation approach,
04:39there will be better and efficient parking management system
04:42that will help residents understand their responsibility to pay for parking.
04:47Maimunah said their goal is to promote both accountability and operational efficiency.