Government responds to criticism about fee hikes

The government has responded to public criticism of the recent fee increase for some services under the Traffic Affairs Bureau (DSAT), especially those concerning the removal of vehicles and deposits when caught in violation of parking law.

The Spokesperson’s Office held a joint press conference at the government headquarters this week, together with representatives from DSAT and the Public Security Police Force (PSP).

At the conference, DSAT director Lam Hin San and PSP commander Leong Man Cheong tried to clarify the motives behind the new regulation.

Lam said fines had been raised because “most of the stipulated amounts ​​haven’t changed since 1998, which has led to an increase in the spending of the administrative services.”

“The government intends to recoup some of the costs incurred through this adjustment. The goal of the measure is only to cover some of the expenditure and not to make a profit,” he said.

Lam argued that the policy would alleviate the lack of available public parking spaces and “create fairer parking conditions” in the long term.

Lam revealed that more than 900,000 fines were issued throughout 2016 and that 255,000 were related to parking meters.
He also highlighted the government’s efforts to increase the number of available parking spots, which resulted in the creation of about 2,000 new parking spots in 2016. Lam expects the number of new spots to double in 2017.

Leong said the PSP “has always been concerned about the illegal occupation of public car parks.” He said between January 1 and 3, only 44 vehicles were blocked for illegal parking, of which only three were towed.

Leong added that the PSP’s main priority is targeting vehicles that show signs of prolonged occupation of parking spaces, damage or abandonment.

“The authorities will continue to combat illegal parking […] in order to free public space and prevent abuse,” he reaffirmed.

A group of unhappy citizens, supported by lawmakers Pereira Coutinho and Leong Veng Chai, have booked a demonstration for Sunday afternoon to urge the government to withdraw the new policy.  RM