THE Municipal Council has defended its decision to penalise those who leave their vehicles in undesignated parking spaces around Penampang, saying that such action was in accordance with the Uniform (Provision of Public Parking Places) By-Laws 2023 under the Local Government Ordinance 1961.
Council President Noemi Dyena John Tren said, under the By-Laws, motorists were only permitted to park in spaces which had been demarcated and approved by the local authority.
“The provisions in By-Laws 8 were put in place to ensure that traffic safety, the smooth movement of vehicles, emergency access and the well-being of road-users was preserved at all times,” she said.
“Drivers cannot just leave their automobiles as they like in any public area which has not been set aside for parking purposes by the Council.”
She said the ‘No-Parking Zones’ included open spaces, public reserves, road shoulders and landscaped government land within the municipality as motorists ran the risk of damaging the surface of the earth, grass and any public amenities by occupying these areas.
“These so called ‘Zones’ are meant as road reserves or for public use, besides being set up for landscaping and safety purposes. They were not intended to be co-opted as open parking areas.”
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Noemi was responding to the recent outcry from Netizens over the Council’s recent move to compound drivers who parked on verges in some parts of Penampang.
The unhappy drivers spoke out over social media, saying that it was unfair of the agency to come down on them considering the shortage of public parking around the municipality.
The disgruntled motorists also pointed out that, at the time, their vehicles had not been obstructing the flow of traffic in those areas where they had been parked.
Noemi said the Council took a serious view to the feedback from the community.
“We will continue to take note of the need to improve the parking situation here – including aspects of demarcation, signage, public awareness and management – to ensure that the implementation of our enforcement efforts are more transparent and easier for the public to understand.”
She clarified that the crackdown on illegal parking around the municipality was not driven by a need to increase the Council’s revenue.
“The decision to tackle this problem was made in light of the burgeoning development taking place within our rating-area, as well as the growing volume of vehicles moving around Penampang at any one time.
“This prompted us to take steps to better regulate and manage the traffic situation here.”
Under the Uniform (Provision of Parking Places) By-Laws 2023, those who leave their vehicles in undesignated parking spaces are liable to a compound of up to RM5,000.
Repeat offenders and those who fail to settle their compounds can be taken to court. If they are found guilty they risk being slapped with a RM100,000 fine, serving a 12 month jail term or both.
Noemi said any enforcement personnel, who was authorised and appointed for this purpose, was empowered to penalise wrongdoers, as was consistent with the provisions of the pertinent By-laws.
She refuted claims from certain quarters that the enforcement on illegal parking had been selectively carried out, with some drivers who had double-parked not being penalised.
“Enforcement operations are carried out continually throughout the municipality. However, these exercises are beholden to circumstantial factors such as congestion, traffic safety, the priority accorded to certain locations and operational challenges.
“Nevertheless, the Council will strive to improve certain enforcement aspects to ensure that its enforcement endeavours were performed more effectively and with greater consistency.”
When it came to the management of parking in Penampang by a third party or appointed operator, Noemi said there was nothing unusual about this.
“This is a practice which is observed by other local authorities and is dependent on the conditions and areas which these come under these agencies.”
Besides cracking down on incidents of illegal parking, the Council has also been actively going after those who abandon their vehicles in those common areas under its jurisdiction.
Noemi said a total of nine unwanted vehicles had been towed away by the agency since the end of February.
“Three such automobiles were separately removed from the verges along the access road to Taman Sri Kibabaig on Thursday and around Cyber Square on February 27,” she said. “
She said one abandoned vehicle each was cleared from the Koidupan Light Industrial and New World commercial centres, during the latter exercise.
“One other automobile was taken away from the area around the McDonald’s outlet, off Jalan Bundusan, on March 5.”
Notices were earlier taped to the windshields or windows of these vehicles to give the owners a chance to bring their property back to their respective premises.
Noemi said the agency had enlisted the assistance of the Police Department to determine if the dumped automobiles had been used in any criminal activities.
“The affected vehicles were impounded in the Council’s new depot in the Pavilion area.”
She said the owners had to settle a compound, as well as the towing and impound charges, before their automobiles were relinquished to them.
“They had 30 days to do this. Any vehicles which remained after this were dealt with accordingly.”
