Clamps only for those parking without paying: DBKL

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has explained that only those parking without paying their parking charges in the national capital would have their cars clamped, even if the vehicles are parked properly.
Its media relations officer Hassan Azhari Abu Bakar said under current parking arrangements in the city introduced in September last year vehicle owners can be clamped if they parked in bays without paying the parking charge.
“If you park over the time you paid for, we will issue a summon. But if you don’t pay at all, we’ll clamp, because we consider them as inconsiderate for taking up a parking space that could have otherwise been used by other users,” he said.
He was responding to playwright Kee Thuan Chye who had, on Monday, posted on his Facebook, complaining it was outrageous for DBKL to clamp cars that were properly parked in parking bays but not displaying their parking tickets.
“Clamping should be for offences like parking illegally in areas where there are notices of clamping. There is no clamping warning for not buying or displaying parking tickets,” he said.
Car owners are subjected to a RM50 fine to have the clamp removed.
Hassan explained that the new system implemented by DBKL allowed users to pay for their parking at designated machines without having to display them on their vehicles, as it would be recorded in its system.
“Our enforcement team will be patrolling and scanning the cars’ registration plates. If you have paid, even without displaying the coupon on your cars, the system will still indicate that the owner had paid and the vehicle will not be clamped,” he said.
Former DBKL enforcement director Mustafa Mohd Nor had, earlier this month, said DBKL had no option but to clamp cars that are indiscriminately parked in the city as offenders have been taking its compounds lightly.
He said 1.4 million compounds were issued yearly to traffic offenders, many of whom made no effort to settle it.
“There are more than 120,000 compounds issued a month but no one bothers to pay. We have no choice but to take action for the benefit of the city,” he said.