The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has received 1,009 public complaints regarding damaged or abandoned vehicles from early January to May 2025, with 992 of them successfully resolved and the remaining 17 still under investigation, Bernama reports.
According to minister for federal territories in the prime minister’s department Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa, the complaints came from 11 KL constituencies, with the highest number recorded in Segambut (163 complaints), followed by Seputeh (143), Setiawangsa (113) and Bukit Bintang (81).
She said DBKL’s enforcement department transports the vehicles to depots in Taman Connaught, Pantai Sentral and Jalan Emas, which were specifically created for storage and disposal purposes.
“Among the improvement measures being taken by DBKL is to speed up the disposal process for unclaimed vehicles through gazetting. However, the gazetting process takes time because DBKL needs to ensure that the owner or next of kin will not reclaim the vehicle before it is disposed of to safeguard the interest of ownership,” Dr Zaliha said recently in the Dewan Rakyat in response to a query from Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun.
“DBKL’s observations have found that this matter is becoming increasingly urgent as more and more vehicles are left unclaimed, especially in cases involving the death of the owner without the next of kin to act on the vehicle, which are not claimed from the workshop or are kept by certain individuals for sentimental reasons,” she added.
But the real solution is for all owners of damaged or abandoned vehicles to play their respective roles in disposing of their own vehicles, Dr Zaliha said, and to that end, the road transport department‘s (JPJ) e-Dereg system lets owners deregister their vehicles online. The vehicles are then sent to the Authorised Automotive Treatment Facility (AATF) registered with the Department of Environment.
“This system simplifies the process because the owner does not need to be present at JPJ office. Furthermore, AATF will bear the cost of transportation and disposal and this process will be completed in less than an hour. Owners will also be paid some consolations based on the condition of the vehicle. The consolation received can be used to pay outstanding summonses if any,” said Dr Zaliha.
Meanwhile, according to another Bernama report, the transport ministry recently received a delegation from the Penang City Council (MBPP) to discuss a collaboration in expanding the implementation of AATF in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.
“This discussion is very meaningful in finding a long-term solution to the problem of abandoned vehicles around Penang,” said transport minister Anthony Loke on Facebook recently.
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Well done, less nuisance obstructing the parking and roads.
DBKL, do you really need people to complaint before taking action? You have your traffic warden patrolling and dishing out parking summons, they can also tasked to identify, mark and stick the usual warning notice on these abandon cars, right?