A parking tout (right) waiting for payment from a motorist outside some eateries in Jalan Lepas, Johor Baru near the Causeway customs, immigration and quarantine complex. — Photos: THOMAS YONG/The Star
IF you head to downtown Johor Baru, which is popular for its hip cafes and shopping, chances are you will see illegal parking attendants who guide vehicles into parking bays and expect “payment” in return.
For years, these parking touts, also known as ulat parking or jaga kereta, have been operating in hotspots such as Jalan Trus, Jalan Dhoby, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee and Jalan Segget where many businesses and places of interest are located.
Some of the touts also operate in Jalan Bukit Timbalan, Jalan Dato Onn and Jalan Wong Ah Fook, where people usually park to visit the Bazaar Karat night market in the city centre.
StarMetro visited some of the areas which were manned by these illegal parking touts.
One of the touts, after collecting money from a motorist, whipped out a Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) parking coupon and placed it on a car parked in his “area of operation”.
Another one cordoned off a few vacant parking bays along Jalan Segget with traffic cones.
He would coolly remove the traffic cones before directing a vehicle into the parking space.
A parking tout (left) telling a motorist he would help to put a council parking coupon if local authorities come around.
Once the driver got out of the car, the man extended his right hand as a sign for payment.
The driver then pulled out money from his wallet and passed it to the tout.
Such exchanges are a common sight and the payment usually ranges from RM1 to RM5.
It may seem harmless and consensual, but many vehicle owners are actually paying out of fear.
Data controller Amirul Hafiz Hasbolah, 29, said parking touts were always around whenever he visited Bazaar Karat in the evening and he often felt pressured to give them money to prevent anything from happening to his car.
Amirul Hafiz says parking touts are always around when he visits Bazaar Karat in the evening.
“Because of the lack of proper parking spaces near the bazaar, people usually just park their vehicles illegally on the roadside.
“This gives the touts opportunity to earn easy money by stretching out their hands for payment.
“I am worried that if I do not give in to their request, they will scratch my car or damage it some other way.
“The amount of money given varies and depends on how much small change I have with me at the time, usually between RM3 and RM5,” he said, adding that he avoided the area now because it was difficult to find a parking spot especially during weekends.
An outdoor parking area beside Galleria@Kota Raya shopping centre in downtown Johor Baru. Motorists who park here have to walk a distance to reach their favourite shops and cafes.
A Singaporean, who wanted to be known only as Angie, said paying parking touts had become a routine whenever she went cafe-hopping with her family in Johor Baru.
“Parking spots are limited in the city centre and we will have to walk quite a distance if we park at the parking lots near Galleria@Kota Raya shopping centre.
“So if I see a vacant parking bay along Jalan Trus, I will park there and I do not mind giving the tout a few ringgit,” said the 36-year-old analyst.
She suggested that a multistorey carpark be built in the area and that could be added revenue for the government.
Civil servant Dawson Yeang, 35, on the other hand, said he usually avoided paying parking touts.
Yeang says he usually avoids paying parking touts.
He recalled a recent experience where a parking tout outside a popular asam pedas restaurant in Jalan Lepas, near the Causeway Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex, asked him for RM5 to take care of his car while he went for lunch.
“I was taken aback by the specific amount that he asked for.
“I thought people just gave whatever amount they wanted.
“I asked him what the charge was for and he said it was for him to take care of my car.
“My parents, who were with me at the time, said I should give in to the man’s request as a form of charity but I refused.
“I told him that I had already paid for a season parking pass as displayed on my windscreen so I do not have to pay again.
“I was annoyed that he asked for a handout so I told him I worked for the authorities and at that point, he apologised and stopped asking me for money,” he added.
Yeang said such behaviour created a negative image of Johor Baru and with the city located next to Singapore, it gave a bad impression to tourists and visitors from other states as well.
He added that people should refrain from giving money eto parking touts, in order to discourage the practice.
The kerb along Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Baru, has been raised, making it difficult for motorists to park illegally on the roadside.
StarMetro visited the area Yeang mentioned and noticed a man sitting on a plastic chair.
He waited for visitors to park their vehicles before collecting money from them.
The area is usually busy during breakfast and lunch hours as there are a few well-known eateries offering chicken rice, laksa and beef noodles there aside from asam pedas.
When asked whether he was hired by any of the eateries to man the parking area, the tout said he did it of his own accord.
“I live nearby and come here daily to offer my services as a source of income and the food operators here do not stop me because they see it as a way to help me.
“I also help the patrons to look out for enforcement officers and prevent their vehicles from getting towed, as they usually park illegally on the roadside to go to the restaurants,” he said.
He also claimed that the patrons were free to give him any amount of money.
According to a restaurant owner in Jalan Tan Hiok Nee in downtown Johor Baru, the number of illegal parking attendants in the area had reduced recently.
“There used to be two or three touts hanging around Jalan Tan Hiok Nee near my coffeeshop, waiting to ask motorists for some money.
“Now that the council has heightened enforcement which makes it difficult for people to park illegally on the roadside, the touts are no longer there.
“We also see more police presence in the area and I have personally witnessed some of the touts getting picked up by the police.
“We hope the police and the local authorities can keep up the good work to make our city cleaner and improve our image.
“I have been operating my coffeeshop in the area for decades and many locals and Singaporeans visit the area, especially during weekends and public holidays,” said the owner who declined to be named.
