PENAMPANG: A local community watchdog has called on the Penampang Municipal Council (MPP) to clarify the legal basis of issuing parking summonses to owners whose vehicles are not in designated parking areas.
The call followed photographs showing affected vehicles parked on open roadside patches and not obstructing traffic or pedestrians.
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Penampang Watcher spokesman Edwin Jomiji, in a statement, said the summonses, which can be up to RM300, were issued despite the vehicles not being parked within any gazetted or marked council parking bay.
“On what by-law is this summons based? If the area is not an official parking bay, why were the vehicles fined?” he said, adding that the group is also concerned about the lack of designated parking alternatives for residents, particularly those living above shoplots with limited access to parking.
He noted that some who double-parked were not summoned, raising questions about enforcement consistency. Of further concern to the group is the identity of those carrying out the enforcement.
Penampang Watcher said it was informed that the officers issuing the summonses are not MPP employees but staff of a private company contracted by the council and vested with enforcement powers.
“An interesting question is whether this is acceptable from a legal standpoint,” Edwin said.
The group also cited an account shared on social media in which an enforcement officer allegedly responded to a vehicle owner’s query with the remark, “Siapa mau bayar saya punya gaji”.
Penampang Watcher said such statement gives the impression that summonses are being issued primarily as a revenue collection exercise rather than proper regulation.
It called on the Council to suspend parking enforcement until adequate facilities, including multi-storey car parks, are made available and to
consider improving public transportation in the district to ease parking pressure.
