SIBU: Growing dissatisfaction among motorists over shortcomings in the Sibu Municipal Council’s (SMC) smart parking system has prompted Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng to call for a review of its implementation.
Chieng, accompanied by community leaders, held a dialogue with the council today (July 8) to convey public concerns and feedback regarding the digital parking system, which was fully implemented on July 1.
“I support the move towards a smarter city and improved parking management. However, any policy must always put the people’s interests first by being fair, transparent and people-oriented,” he said.
During the meeting, Chieng put forward four key recommendations. These included calling on the council to clarify the legal basis for the RM150 penalty, introduce a five to 10-minute grace period for motorists to make parking payments, improve the parking application to better cater to senior citizens, and reinstate the midday free parking concession.
“The feedback collected from the grassroots has now been submitted to the council. I sincerely hope the authorities will listen to public concerns, conduct a comprehensive review of these measures, and ensure the parking system is fairer, more practical and more user-friendly for everyone,” he added.
Chieng also thanked the community leaders for joining him in the dialogue and standing together to voice the concerns of the people.
Since the smart parking system replaced the traditional parking coupon system, many motorists have complained that parking attendants employed by the contractor have been overly zealous and unfair in carrying out enforcement.
Among the complaints were cases in which motorists received RM10 compounds despite being in the process of paying for parking through the SMC Cares application.
Others claimed they were issued RM150 summonses in the Medan commercial area even though the parking bay markings and numbering were unclear, leading them to believe that parking charges did not apply in those locations.
