Sibu Municipal Council told to fix smart parking issues after widespread public complaints

Michael Tiang

By DayakDaily Team

SIBU, July 9: Deputy Minister of Local Government Datuk Michael Tiang has called for urgent improvements to the Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) Cares Smart Parking System following widespread public complaints over difficulties faced by users.

He said feedback from Sibu residents showed that the system continued to experience operational and technical problems that had affected the overall user experience.

“Among the issues highlighted were a complicated registration process, particularly for senior citizens, an unfriendly interface, slow application performance, frequent automatic logouts, delayed payment processing, and the issuance of parking compounds before users were able to complete their payments,” he said in a statement as reported by TVS today.

Tiang also noted concerns that some enforcement officers appeared to be placing greater emphasis on issuing compounds rather than assisting motorists who encountered difficulties using the system.

He has since urged the SMC and the system provider to take immediate corrective action to resolve the issues.

“If a system is not yet truly user-friendly, improvement efforts must continue until it genuinely serves the public instead of becoming an additional burden,” he stressed.

Among the measures proposed were the introduction of a reasonable grace period to allow motorists sufficient time to complete parking payments, as well as ensuring users are not penalised for delays caused by technical problems.

Tiang also called on the system provider to promptly address recurring issues, including slow app performance, automatic logouts and delayed payment transactions.

At the same time, he urged enforcement officers to adopt a more educational and assistance-based approach, especially when dealing with senior citizens and first-time users, before resorting to enforcement action.

He said members of the public who require assistance with the system could seek help at public libraries, SMC service counters, helplines, or the N.54 Pelawan Service Centre for matters such as downloading the application, account registration, e-wallet top-ups and payment procedures.

On parking compounds that had already been issued, Tiang said SMC had been instructed to review cases involving system-related issues and consider waiving the penalties if they were found to have resulted from technical faults. — DayakDaily