March 11, 2016
JPJ-issued parking stickers for the disabled are now sold openly and being abused by non-disabled motorists who park in their bays.
PETALING JAYA: The sale of fake parking stickers for the disabled (OKU) is making it difficult for genuinely disabled motorists to find parking spaces on roadsides and in shopping malls.
Members of the Damai Disabled Persons Association have complained that the fake stickers are being sold in several places including shopping malls, commercial areas and hardware shops for anything between RM7 and RM20.
The association’s president V Murugeswaran said drivers with disabilities could only obtain authentic stickers from the Road Transport Department (JPJ) after getting their physical condition assessed.
“We are sad that there is also a lack of enforcement by the local authorities. It seems that the irresponsible drivers are not worried about being fined,” The Star Online quoted him as saying.
He added that stiffer penalties were needed to deter the abuse of disabled parking spots.
Murugeswaran also hoped the authorities could consider introducing a system similar in Germany and other countries where a machine could send photos of vehicles without proper stickers immediately to the police or the local authorities so prompt action could be taken against the offending parties.
When asked to comment on the abuse of special parking bays for the disabled, CEO of Sunway Shopping Mall, H C Chan said the use of OKU parking stickers was based on trust and that if the car had a sticker, there was little the shopping mall’s management could do.
“But if guards see a healthy person parking in the OKU space, they will take action,” the news portal reported him as saying.