RECENTLY, police affirmed that it is against the law to “reserve” a parking spot by physically placing oneself in a parking lot, as there are a number of people who do this frequently.
Malaysians, as well as citizens of many other nations around the world, have been facing this issue for some time now, and lately, things have taken a turn for the worse.
Every so often, we hear of cases where motorists, who are in the midst of searching for a parking bay, stumble upon those who would simply stand in a parking lot, acting as a human cone of some sort.
The logic here is simple: you find a spot, but your car can’t seem to reach the spot in time because perhaps you are against the flow of traffic. So you get your friend to run out and reserve (or “chup” as it is colloquially referred to) it while you go make a circle around the lot.
These parking bay hoarders do not realise how selfish their actions are, because open parking bays, regardless of location, are meant for vehicles and not human beings.
The act of reserving a parking lot via a physical being is nothing less than self-centred because it deprives others of the same right. That is only a small part of the problem.
Anyone, excluding the authorities, who is guilty of committing this act, would be violating the law under Section 50(3) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
What’s more, under Section 119, those who are found guilty can be fined up to RM2,000, or worse still, face a six month-long prison sentence.
I have to admit, I like the sound of this. I dare say that these sentiments are shared by many other motorists, and not just me. Perhaps it is because we have had enough.
Every day, we see selfish motorists on the road, doing everything from cutting queues and hogging the emergency lanes. We seem to be helpless in trying to find a solution to this. As if those problems weren’t enough, we are forced to deal with greedy individuals off the road too.
Many a time, we have tried to voice out our displeasure whenever we are faced with this situation. Instead, these people start hurling expletives and vulgarities to drivers who politely ask the individuals to move away from the parking lot. Some ignore the drivers and continue standing while waiting for their friends to arrive and park.
I remember once when I was trying to park my car at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, I saw an empty bay from afar. When I reached the spot and was preparing to manoeuvre my vehicle in, I noticed that there was a woman standing inside the parking lot.
I wound down the window and respectfully asked her to step aside, as I wasn’t planning on mowing her down. She then looked at me, rather annoyed I must add, waved her hand and shook her head. The message was clear: this spot is taken, so move along and go find another place.
Needless to say, her action miffed me. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out if she was simply ignorant, or downright rude.
I raised my voice and told her to move, but she refused. I realised that getting angry at fools just wasn’t worth all the effort, so I drove away. A slice of cake and two cups of coffee later, I reflected on the incident.
How can some people be so self-centred without as much as a little courtesy? How can some people flat out ignore another person without as much as a flinch?
How can some people have a complete disregard for the law without as much as a little fear?
It honestly baffled me.
It dawned upon me that with each passing moment, with each passing year, with each passing generation, a number of people have stopped having respect and consideration for others, and have started to become egotistical and self-interested.
It’s disappointing to see that with the advancement of technology in all forms, the progression of the nation in terms of character has gone down the drain.
The writer, a lecturer at Sunway
College, is a Malaysian-born Eurasian with Scottish/Japanese/
Indian lineage. She believes in a
tomorrow where there is no racism and hatred.