Yesterday, while I was parking at Jalan Selat, Teluk Intan, where the municipal practices coupon system for parking, I was slapped with a compound for a coupon that I accidently scratched the wrong date (10 Oct) and then corrected it as 5 Oct. Being dissatisfied that this is due to human error, I went to the Teluk Intan Municipal Council (MPTI) office and enquired at the payment counter, where I was redirected to the enforcement officer office. And, instead of being treated as a paying customer who pays for the parking service, I was treated more like a person who often commits offense.

While discussing with the officer, he kept focusing on the mistake, saying that it is a mistake and the compound cannot be cancelled, and after telling him I expected it to be cancelled, he sounded quite dissatisfied, telling me to see the president of MPTI without trying to help me with the problems. Feeling frustrated, I left the office, voicing my dissatisfaction for the trouble these enforcement officers gave to me.

Today, I got my uncle to solve the problem. He went straight to the MPTI main office and managed to meet the deputy president of MPTI. After explaining the situation, the officer said ok and cancelled the compound. Now, the thing I don’t understand is, why can’t the officer cancel it at the first place? If he has no authority to do so, why can’t he assist me nicely to the office of the president or deputy president of the municipal council?

In today’s modern world where expectations are high, officers at government departments be they serving customers at the front-end or even enforcement officers should have a customer-oriented approach when dealing with public. While the enforcement officers may be enforcing the law, they should also take a customer-oriented approach when performing their duties instead of using the authoritarian approach.

Now, about the parking coupon, it seems that the Perak state government has decided on the use of the coupon system at all local authorities in the state. Why are they using an outdated system which has been disbanded by many municipal councils in Selangor? We probably remember the days when the city of Petaling Jaya and municipal of Subang Jaya adopted the coupon system many years ago. However, they have disbanded the system in favor of the ticket system practiced currently.

Why can’t local authorities in Perak adopt the ticket system? It seems like it’s a step backward. Even residents in Ipoh city are unhappy with the implementation of coupon system by the Ipoh City Council. Perhaps the Housing and Local Government Ministry can look into this issue and recommend a standardized system for all local authorities to adopt.