‘Parking spaces for the disabled only for physically challenged drivers’

KUCHING: Parking spaces for the disabled in the strict sense can only be used by a disabled driver and not meant for drivers carrying disabled passengers.

Kuching North City Hall mayor Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai said under the law, parking spaces allocated for the disabled persons are only for disabled drivers.

“Drivers with disabled passengers are not supposed to park there. However, they are allowed to park temporarily to let the disabled passengers get off from their vehicles or to let disabled passengers get on to the vehicles.”

“After the disabled passengers get off or get on the vehicles, the drivers should drive away from these parking spaces which are designated for the disabled persons.

“The drivers chauffeuring the disabled persons are not supposed to park there,” Abang Abdul Wahap told The Borneo Post yesterday.

To avoid any confusion, he said disabled drivers must have a certificate for the disabled in the form of a sticker which could be pasted on the vehicles.

“I believe these stickers are available at the Welfare Department. Disabled drivers can go there to apply for one to allow them to use the parking space for the disabled,” he explained.

Abang Abdul Wahap was asked to clarify on the confusion whether parking spaces for the disabled could be used only by disabled drivers or they could also be used by drivers transporting disabled passengers.

A reader had recently informed The Borneo Post that his car was clamped when he parked at a disabled parking space while bringing a disabled passenger with him.

He believed that the shopping mall should have a proper system to monitor disabled parking space users such as a pass system or an effective monitoring system so that such incident would not happen again.

He said the provision of OKU designated car parks by the city councils and shopping complexes has been a good development. However, there is a need for a system to manage their usage to benefit genuine users.

After the news was uploaded online, Borneopost Online received many comments for the story.

Netizens generally agreed that parking spaces for the disabled should only be for disabled drivers and not for drivers with disabled passengers.