Extend parking amnesty period to one month – rep

KOTA KINABALU: Api-Api assemblywoman Christina Liew has appealed to City Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai to consider extending the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) special offer of RM10 penalty for car-parking offenders to one month.

She reckoned that this would allow more people to come forward to settle their parking compounds, especially those who missed the opportunity on February 2 due to various reasons.

Liew was responding to Yeo's announcement of extension of the amnesty period for coupon and parking offenders by one more day. Yeo made the announcement on Friday after seeing the huge crowd who flocked to City Hall compound, as early as 6am, to settle their coupon and parking compounds.

Under the amnesty program held in conjunction with Kota Kinabalu's 18th anniversary celebration, offenders who have outstanding summonses need only to pay RM10 as penalty for each compound.

“The extension of the amnesty period by one more day is just too short a time, especially for those parking offenders who are currently still outstation,” she said.

Liew also reminded that in the past, City Hall had conducted the amnesty period for one month to allow motorists to settle their outstanding summonses, hence there's no reason why the same cannot be done this year.

“The overwhelming response to the special offer of RM10 penalty under the amnesty program also showed the people's desperation to avoid unnecessary expenses, and to save money during this challenging time of economic downturn and escalating cost of living.

“Hence, if the government wants to demonstrate that it really cares for the people's wellbeing, it should do it wholeheartedly and magnanimously, instead of half-heartedly,” said Liew who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) Sabah chairperson cum Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sabah chairperson.

She also opined that a onemonth amnesty period would be appropriate in view of the huge number of about 820,000 outstanding parking compounds as disclosed by Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister Datuk Edward Yong Oui Fah.

Of the said figure, about 500,000 summonses were issued by City Hall for illegal parking and some 320,000 summonses issued to motorists for failing to pay parking through the coupon system since 2013.

She hoped City Hall could open its counters during weekends for motorists to settle their summonses during the proposed one-month amnesty period.

Liew also believed the amnesty program could have been better organized without subjecting the motorists to form a long queue under the hot sun for hours.

“The ratepayers are the people's bosses and they should not be treated in such an inconsiderate manner,” she stressed.