Promote SMC Cares app ahead of full rollout, chairman tells councillors

SIBU (March 26): Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting has called on councillors to play a more proactive role in educating the public on the use of the SMC Cares smart parking application.

He said complaints had been received, particularly from elderly users, who were issued compounds for failing to display parking coupons.

“In about a week, I received more than 10 complaints. We must work with the public so they know how to use the app,” he said when chairing the council’s full meeting yesterday.

Ting reiterated that SMC will fully roll out the smart parking system beginning July, which will see the discontinuation of physical parking coupons.

He suggested that councillors organise weekend sessions to guide the public, utilising council facilities such as libraries, including the one at Kampung Bahagia.

He added that all council staff should be trained on the smart parking system, and that hawkers could also be engaged to help disseminate information to the public.

“We should do this to promote the use of the smart parking app. The application has so far recorded between 53,000 and 54,000 registered users,” he said.

“We will continue promoting the app even after reaching 100,000 users as this is an ongoing effort.”

On a separate matter, Ting revealed that 174 dog-bite cases were reported last month in areas under SMC’s jurisdiction.

“Of the 174 cases, 128 involved pet dogs while 46 were caused by stray dogs,” he said.