KOTA KINABALU, Tuesday, 19 May 2026:
Gee Tien Siong, a vice president of SAPP, has weighed in on the recent controversy over City Hall’s towing operations, saying that while maintaining traffic order is a valid goal, effective urban governance depends less on the severity of enforcement and more on winning public acceptance.
Gee argued that for enforcement to be accepted, procedures must show flexibility and be precisely targeted at issues that genuinely affect people’s daily lives.
He pointed out that the severe shortage of parking bays in the city is a well-known reality, and many so-called illegal parking cases are simply desperate drivers making do when they cannot find a space.
The situation is often made worse when public parking is taken over by events or bazaars. At the same time, motorists from outlying areas can easily fall into parking traps simply through unfamiliarity with the city layout.
Rigidly towing every offending vehicle, he said, often sparks panic rather than reflection. Drivers returning to an empty spot frequently fear their car has been stolen before they even consider that it might have been towed by DBKK.
More broadly, Gee warned that heavy-handed enforcement breeds a “better not go downtown” mentality that ultimately hurts businesses and the local economy.
“The real deadlock,” he said, “lies in the vehicle redemption process.” Under the current system, owners must settle all outstanding fines before reclaiming their vehicle and are subject to a daily overnight storage fee of RM150.
Gee said this bundling of old fines with a daily charge easily creates the impression that the authorities are simply trying to make money. Stranded without transport, owners scramble to raise funds under financial strain, only to see the fees climb higher the longer they wait.
He noted that the mechanism also burdens frontline staff, with some officers forced to wait until 9 p.m. for citizens to return with payment, just to avoid overnight fees; proof that the problem is not a lack of diligence from officers, but the rigidity of the procedure.
In contrast, Gee said the real focus should be on clearing abandoned vehicles that occupy public spaces or are dumped on residential road shoulders for long periods. Limited resources, he stressed, would be better spent tackling these stubborn problems.
He proposed that minor offenders be given a warning notice with parking guidance instead of facing immediate punishment, and that a buffer period be introduced to pause overnight fees while citizens apply for case-by-case consideration or face genuine difficulty raising the money.
City Hall must be able to show administrative flexibility, reflecting a mature and efficient standard of urban governance for Kota Kinabalu, he added.
Gee Tien Siong
Vice President, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP)