PERPETUAL PROBLEM: Local authorities and police must act against those who break the law to show they mean business
IT irks me greatly to see posters pasted indiscriminately on public amenities such as lampposts, supporting columns of overhead roads, road signs, Telekom utility boxes, etc. More posters and banners are nailed to trees along roadsides, announcing a variety of products and services.
Operations have been carried out to remove such posters and banners by the local authorities, but they sprout up like mushrooms after the rain as soon as the operations end.
This brings us to question why Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) or the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), and other local authorities seem helpless in resolving this perpetual problem once and for all. After all, these banners and posters carry the contact information of the law-breakers.
We have seen DBKL and MBPJ enforcement units in action confiscating and fining guilty restaurant owners for placing tables and chairs at five-foot-ways, tearing down illegal house extensions, or giving tickets to cars that are illegally parked.
Why isn't action taken against those guilty of posting illegal posters or banners in public places?
Another category of serial law-breakers are road users, both in cars and motorcycles. The most serious offence committed by these road users is beating the red lights. This is a highly dangerous act, but the guilty parties do not seem to care.
More often than not, you will see motorists stopping at yellow boxes. This is an inconsiderate and irritating habit as it prevents motorists to proceed forward at junctions or entrances when the light turns green. This can sometimes happen in the presence of law enforcers.
It is already a habit for motor-cyclists to be at the front at traffic stops. They will hog the pedestrian walks or spill over onto the road despite oncoming traffic. This not only endangers pedestrians crossing at traffic lights but also themselves. Occasionally, car drivers are equally guilty.
In major cities of Taiwan, such as Taipei, there are special lanes for motor-cyclists. There are also boxes for motor-cyclists to stop at traffic lights. Malaysian city and town planners should provide spaces for motor-cyclists as well as pedestrians on city roads.
The list of illegal actions of motorists is long. Again, why is action not taken against these law-breakers?
Most of you searching for free car park spaces while doing your errands in the Klang Valley (I am sure at other places, too) will always come across unoccupied parking spaces but yet you will not dare to park at these spaces. More often than not, these spaces are in front of car repair shops. You would not dare to park as your car could be scratched or tyre punctured.
You will be fuming if it happens to you. It would be within the right of the car repair shop owners if they leased these spaces from the local authorities, but the question is why motor repair shops are allowed to hog parking spaces that are not leased to them.
There are other shop owners who are equally guilty of hogging parking spaces. They will place chairs or other obstacles to declare to the public that these spaces belong to them and they are the only party that can park in these spaces.
Your neighbour will also take similar action in front of his house despite the spot being a public space and it is supposed to be on a first-come-first-served basis. This often leads to quarrels among neighbours.
It is Malaysian mentality to extend your house as high or as far as possible, even to the extent of occupying public spaces. The house owners are supposed to get permission from city or local councils and, at the same time, seek the permission of his/her immediate neighbours. The guilty house owner think that he/she has the right to do so without doing it the legal or proper way.
Is it the Malaysian mentality to ignore the law if they suffer no consequences from being a serial law-breaker?
Who should we blame for this state of affairs? Should we blame friends, parents, teachers, law enforcers or the lawmakers?
Many road and public signs are vandalised by those who stick notices on them. There seems to be no permanent solution to this problem.
