Road shoulders turned into parking areas
Published on: Friday, March 17, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
A Council officer appears to be stunned by the thick creepers which have grown up around the cars which have been parked in this part of Bundusan Plaza.
The District Council is keeping an eye on road-shoulders around Penampang to ensure that motorists, including bus drivers, do not transform these common areas into private parking spaces.A spokesman for the agency said about 14 tourist buses or coaches were found to have been abandoned, or haphazardly parked, along several stretches around the district last week.
The District Council-MOTAC teams checking on a coach which was found on the verge at this section of Jalan Penampang-Tambunan.
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These roads included Jalan Penampang-Tambunan, as well as those around the Wong Kwok Commercial Centre and Taman Suria, according to him.
He said the Council’s staff had been participating in a joint operation with their peers from the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC) at the time.
“The MOTAC officers took down the relevant details in order to carry out a further investigation,” he said on March 16.
He said another 28 vehicles were found dumped around a number of residential properties about the same time.
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Lorries, cars and vans in various states of disrepair were observed on housing roads in Taman Bangsawan, Taman Perdana, Taman Imperial Villa, Taman Sri Kristal, Taman Intan, Taman Reservoir Phase 2, Taman Golfview, Taman Kepayan 1, Taman Masjaya, Taman Majaya and Kesai Regency Park, according to him.
The spokesman said the team from Council’s Enforcement Division (ED) also noted the presence of unwanted automobiles around Phase 1 of the Fu Guan Industrial Centre.
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“Our officers spoke to 15 vehicle owners during this check, who immediately shifted their cars away.
A notice was adhered to this unwanted lorry in one part of Penampang earlier this month.
“Notices were taped to the windshields or windows of the rest, with their owners instructed to take their automobiles back to their respective properties.”
He said further action could be taken against those named in these documents, under the Uniform (Anti-litter) Bylaws 2010, if they failed to comply.
The Council generally resorted to compounding the wrongdoers, in such circumstances, according to him.
“Our enforcement officers are empowered to issue compounds for as much as RM500.
“Should the problems persist after this, then legal proceedings will be initiated.”
The spokesman said the offenders faced the possibility of being slapped with a fine of up to RM20,000 if they were found guilty in court.
“Alternatively, they may also have to serve a jail-term of up to one year.
“In the worst-case scenario, both penalties could be enacted against them by the magistrate.”
He said its ED was especially vigilant about vehicles which had been illegally left in the common areas around Penampang.
“It has proven difficult to crackdown on the number of illegal garbage dumps, involving such automobiles, which are springing up around the district.
“We view this problem seriously as these vehicles are an eye-sore.
“More importantly, however, any unwanted cars and lorries could become a potential breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.”
He said the Council had the right to impound abandoned automobiles.
MOTAC personnel in the process of taking down the particulars of this abandoned bus, while the Council’s staff look on.
On top of the compound, he said the vehicle owners would also have to settle the towing charge and impound fee, before their property could be returned to them.
“They have 30 days to do this. Any vehicles which remain after this are then disposed off.”
When asked how the agency got rid of these automobiles, the spokesman declined to comment.
On feedback about six vehicles which had been abandoned along a road near Bundusan Plaza, the spokesman said the Council was in the process of trying to identify the next of kin for three of the owners who had since passed away.
“Our Enforcement staff learned about their passing after asking around earlier this year,” he said.
“Notices were adhered to the windshields of their vehicles, and one other, which were badly overgrown with creepers.”
He said this was the second time that documents to this affect had been left on these automobiles.
“Two of the unwanted cars were moved away by interested parties in the vicinity while our officers were preparing the new notices.”
He said the Council had been aware of the abandoned cars on Lorong Bundusan since June last year.
“However, we could only act once we received the owners’ details from the Road Transport Department.”
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