IPOH: The popular taugeh (bean sprout) chicken dish, which turns Jalan Theatre here into a foodie hotspot, tends to come with an unwelcome accompaniment – the “ulat parkir”.
For years, these “jaga kereta” boys have “reigned” on the street where people often go for the taugeh chicken, biscuits and other local delights.
These illegal parking attendants would beckon to car owners arriving here, guiding them to parking bays and expecting payment.
According to business operators, the touts have an asking price of between RM3 and RM5 once your car is parked there.
This is unlike in the past when they would just accept any amount given to them.
“People worry that their cars may be scratched, or the tyres punctured, so they would just give in to the demand,” said Ng In Han, who owns a shop selling traditional biscuits.
He estimated that the touts could earn at least RM100 in two hours based on a charge of RM5 from each vehicle owner.
Ng, 49, said he had been running his business for more than 20 years here and observed that the problem with the touts seemed to have no solution.
He claimed that there had also been cases of car break-ins, where laptops and other valuable items were stolen.
Ng suggested that the police consider stationing their men here during the day, just like what they do at the same location later at night when the famous Gerbang Malam night market begins.
“These parking touts dare not collect money at night with the presence of the police.
“Since this area is such a well-known destination for tourists, including those from abroad, we need to make people feel safe,” he added.
Rasa Sayang Chicken Rice shop owner Alicia Chan said that many people were issued summonses by the Ipoh City Council for not using the official parking application to pay the parking charges.
Most of these people were out-of-towners who think that they need not pay for parking as they had given money to the touts, said Chan.
“But once they get back to their car, they see the summons issued by the city council on their windscreen,” she said.
“They pay these touts up to RM5, thinking that their car will be safe, but in the end they need to fork out additional money to pay the summonses as well.”
She said that these illegal parking attendants would “vanish” immediately the minute that the police or city council enforcement officers were on their rounds.
“Once it is all clear, they reappear again,” she added.
Stationery shop owner Liu Chia Lin, 70, said these touts, of late, had decreased in numbers.
“They were probably rounded up by the police. But they will reappear once they are out from lock-up,” he said.
He said that car owners dreaded their presence but they made the payment nevertheless “to get them off their backs.”
“Probably more patrolling by the enforcement agencies will help the situation,” he added.
Confectionery wholesale owner Chow Tat, 56, said the touts, who might be homeless, were getting bolder by asking for more money these days.
“The council parking is only 60 sen for an hour, but the touts ask so much more,’’ he added.
“This is an easy way of making money. If the police are stationed at this area during the day time, then these touts will not dare to come here.”
When contacted, Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Yahaya Hassan said the Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Division of the district police headquarters had carried out a special operation codenamed “Ulat Parkir” to address the problem in the city centre.
He said from Jan 1 until Aug 22, a total of 25 operations had been carried out at the hotspot areas within Ipoh’s old and new town.
The operations were carried out along Jalan Yau Tet Shin, Jalan Dato Tahwil Azar, Jalan Mustapha Al-Bakri, Jalan Theatre, Jalan Panglima, Jalan Bandar Timah, Jalan Foo Choo Choon and Jalan Laksamana.
“The police nabbed 54 people and all of them were charged in the special traffic court, and sentences meted out,” he said.
“We will continue to plan and enhance enforcement to stop these illegal activities in the city centre from time to time.”
ACP Yahaya advised the public not to make any payments to these illegal parking attendants and to report them to the police if they come across them.
