GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has cancelled 29,240 compound notices issued for street parking infringements captured through its Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) enforcement system and will refund RM266,160 to those who had paid the compound.
Penang local government committee chairman Jason H’ng Mooi Lye said the state government acknowledged the weakness of the current ANPR parking enforcement, which also penalises motorists who only stop briefly to pick up or drop off passengers by deeming the vehicle to be “parked in a non-designated area”.
“The state government acknowledges that the system cannot determine whether there is a person inside a vehicle at the time.
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“To avoid disputes, all compounds issued through the ANPR system for parking outside designated bays will be cancelled,” he said during a press conference at Komtar here yesterday.
H’ng said future enforcement against vehicles parked outside designated bays will be carried out manually, with officials assessing the situation at hand.
“However, this does not apply to areas where parking or stopping is prohibited, or where vehicles cause an obstruction,” he said, adding that the state took seriously the public feedback over the ANPR parking enforcement that was introduced in April 2025.
Motorists who have already paid compounds issued through ANPR for parking outside designated bays can submit refund claims to MBPP until Sept 30.
Applicants must provide the compound payment receipt and a copy of their bank statement.
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ANPR compounds can be identified by the “PSPN” heading in the serial number, while those marked “PSP” were issued through the regular system.
Documents for the refund can be submitted at the refund claim document counter on Level 3 of Komtar or by e-mail to perbendaharaan@mbpp.gov.my.
For motorists who paid the compound through the PSP app, the refund will be processed automatically and credited into their PSP wallet.
Meanwhile, motorists who received an ANPR compound for failing to pay parking fees but had actually made a payment for parking within 10 minutes after the compound was issued can appeal to the MBPP for cancellation.
If the compound has already been paid, they can also apply for a refund.
The ANPR enforcement system uses patrol vehicles equipped with cameras to capture registration plates, with the ANPR system capturing between 7,000 and 10,000 alleged parking violations a month.
The system drew criticism on Aug 8, with various parties questioning its one-minute grace period for motorists to make payments under the Penang Smart Parking (PSP), which is a smartphone app-based system.
H’ng said the ANPR was part of the PSP system proposed by the vendor through a request for proposal exercise.
“MBPP did not incur any additional cost for the ANPR, as it was part of the overall PSP system,” he said.
