Most cars dumped near workshops

MPAJ enforcement officers towing away an abandoned vehicle in Pandan Perdana after receiving a complaint. MPAJ conducts weekly Abandoned Vehicles Operations, but this can only be done on the weekends when traffic is lighter and there is generally enough room to manoeuver the tow trucks.

AMPANG motorists wanting to dispose of their broken down vehicles can now get the service of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), instead of abandoning them by roadsides and housing areas.

The service, introduced this year, however, is not free.

Owners are required to pay a small fee of RM200 as well as make a police report before the council can tow the vehicle away.

MPAJ enforcement officers preparing a dilapidated vehicle in Pandan Perdana to be towed away during a weekly operation. The council estimates that there are more than 1000 abandoned vehicles in the municipality.

MPAJ is hopeful that the would reduce the number of abandoned vehicles in the municipality area.

It is estimated that over 1,000 vehicles are left abandoned at residential and commercial areas in Ampang Jaya.

Council president Abdul Hamid Hussain said the move would shorten the process involved in disposing of abandoned vehicles.

The MPAJ vehicle depot in Pandan Indah has reached maximum capacity, partly due to a long disposal process.

“If the owners surrender their vehicles to us, we do not have the additional task of tracking them or checking with other agencies before disposing the vehicles,” he said.

MPAJ press relations officer Norhayati Ahmad said most vehicle owners tend to abandon their vehicles because they do not know how or where to properly dispose them.

“Before calling the council’s towing service, the owner has to make a police report stating that they are the legitimate owners and the bank loan has been settled.

“The RM200 fee is a minimal fee to offset the towing charges and storage fees,” she said.

One of the abandoned vehicles that was transported to the MPAJ Abandoned Vehicles Depot in Pandan Indah.

Norhayati said the council received numerous complaints from the public regarding the inconvenience caused by abandoned vehicles.

Last year alone, MPAJ received about 800 complaints regarding abandoned vehicles.

“Most complaints are about abandoned vehicles in commercial areas that take up parking spots.

“We also receive many calls from residents in low-cost flats to tow away neglected vehicles. If it is in a private area, we will have to charge the Joint Managament Board the towing fees,” she said.

MPAJ councillor R. Moganraj said areas with many car workshops had one of the highest numbers of abandoned vehicles.

Vehicle owners, who cannot afford to pay for repairs, normally abandoned their cars near car workshops, he added.

MPAJ will issue notices for the vehicle owner to remove his car within a period of between 24 hours and 14 days before the vehicle is towed away.

“Some did not expect the high charges while others encounter problems in obtaining replacement auto parts as some models are obsolete,” he said, adding that the workshop operators would resort to abandoning the vehicles around the area.

“The operators have conveniently left the vehicles at the spots and they have become an eyesore and a potential Aedes mosquito breeding spots,” he said.

He added that some owners would also leave their vehicles when they default on their monthly payments for car loans.

In 2016, 497 vehicles were disposed of and this figure increased to 527 vehicles in 2017. As of June this year, 234 vehicles have been disposed of by the local council.

Red tape involved

There are several criteria that MPAJ considers in determining the length of time given to owners before vehicles are towed away.

For vehicles deemed to be an obstruction, such as in road accidents, a 24-hour notice is issued to the owner before the council tows it away.

“Generally, we allow either three, seven or a maximum of 14 days for the owners to remove their vehicles.

“After the notice period, we will remove the vehicle and take it to our Abandoned Vehicles Depot in Taman Melawati and Pandan Indah.

“Then we will check with the police and Road Transport Department (JPJ) to determine if the vehicle was involved in any crime or has outstanding summonses.

“This is a long and tedious process, so we hope to shorten it by having owners come to us to dispose their unwanted cars,” Norhayati said.

Moganraj says that as of June, 234 vehicles were disposed of in Ampang Jaya.

Currently, it can take a minimum of three months to a year for the local council to remove an abandoned vehicle.

With multi-agency involvement, the long process is causing a pile-up of vehicles at the depots.

In March, Abdul Hamid announced that they would dispose of towed vehicles that were unclaimed by owners within three months.

He said the task would be carried out every quarterly over the year to free up more space in the depots.

Abdul Hamid says new service helps them to trace vehicle owners.

The depot in Taman Melawati has a 250 vehicle capacity, while the Pandan Indah one can fit up to 500 vehicles.

A new depot in Taman Putra Sulaiman is expected to be operational soon, with a capacity of 150 would increase MPAJ’s total car storage capacity to 900.

However, the yard capacity in Pandan Indah has reached maximum capacity, while the one in Taman Melawati is already 70% full.

Reducing the time period

Things are looking up now as the Transport Ministry recently announced that it intended to speed up the process for local authorities to dispose of abandoned vehicles to under one month, from six to 12 months currently.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ministry would finalise the standard operating procedures for local authorities by the end of this year so that it can be implemented early next year.

Loke said JPJ would be instrumental in accelerating the identification of owners of abandoned vehicles, so that the local authorities could decide quickly whether to dispose of the vehicles.

The public can call the MPAJ hotline at 1800-22-8100 or the Department of Management Services at 03-4285 7015 for more information.