PETALING JAYA: Looking for a place to park your car at a public hospital can be an impossible task.
There are never enough bays and leaving your vehicle on the side of the road, which many are forced to do especially in an emergency, could end with a summons.
In the Klang Valley alone, this has become a major problem in at least four hospitals – in Serdang, Selayang, Kajang and Sungai Buloh.
The problem has been highlighted on the web. A simple search online shows plenty of complaints about police or local authorities targeting those who park indiscriminately on the roadside.
The problem will not be resolved in the short term.
To put it into perspective, there are only 300 parking bays for visitors at the Serdang Hospital. However, the number of visitors, especially during peak hours, can be several times more.
Those who have been slapped with a summons may lament the unfairness of it all, but as far as enforcement agencies are concerned, flouting the law should not be tolerated.
Selangor Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Supt Azman Shari’at explained that police are merely doing their job.
“Vehicles parked on the roadside can be a nuisance not only to other motorists but also to ambulances entering and leaving the hospitals,” he told theSun.
“These vehicles may be obstructing traffic and pose a danger to others. We don’t want to be caught in an instance when there is an accident and we get blamed for not doing our job.”
“Some may feel it is unfair to issue a summons in such cases, but others think it’s justified,” he said.
“We’ll do what is right.”
For the Selayang Municipal Council, going by the book is the best way to deal with the situation.
“It is not right for us to close an eye simply because there are not enough parking bays inside the hospital compound,” said its corporate department deputy director Ahmad Fauzi Ishak.
Kajang Municipal Council corporate department assistant administrative officer Nadhirah Mohd Noor said action was necessary to prevent people from taking advantage of any relaxation of the rules.
However, she said those who have been issued with a summons could appeal to the council.
