Kota kinabalu: The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Malaysia (CILTM) Sabah Section has called for a balanced and practical approach to parking enforcement in Kota Kinabalu, saying enforcement must be supported by long-term urban mobility and parking reforms. Its chairman Daniel Doughty said CILTM Sabah recognised the importance of enforcement efforts by Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) in maintaining traffic order, road safety and overall city mobility.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Daniel emphasized that enforcement against illegal parking remained necessary, particularly in areas involving traffic obstruction, junction visibility, pedestrian safety, emergency access routes, loading zones, and high-traffic corridors. He noted that without proper enforcement, traffic conditions within Kota Kinabalu could deteriorate and affect public safety, business activity, logistics movement, tourism experience, and overall city efficiency.
However, Daniel, who is also Labuan Chamber of Commerce (LCC) president, pointed out that the current situation reflects a larger structural issue involving the mismatch between parking demand and available parking infrastructure in the city centre and surrounding commercial zones. He mentioned that the growth in vehicle ownership, commercial activity, tourism, and urban concentration in Kota Kinabalu had outpaced parking capacity expansion and integrated mobility planning.
Daniel highlighted that many road users face difficulty securing regulated parking spaces, especially during peak commercial hours, night-time economic activity periods, weekends, and tamu operations. He stated that enforcement alone cannot fully resolve the issue if the underlying infrastructure and urban mobility constraints remain unaddressed.
He proposed that a sustainable solution should include differentiated enforcement based on the severity of obstruction, warning-based compliance for non-critical violations, controlled night-time parking tolerance zones where suitable, and faster planning for additional parking capacity and smarter urban mobility solutions. He also stressed the need for public understanding that illegally parked vehicles could affect traffic flow, safety, emergency access, and road functionality, even if traffic appears light.
Daniel expressed that CILTM Sabah viewed calls for street demonstrations at this stage as unnecessary, as parking and mobility challenges required technical engagement, planning coordination, and policy refinement involving authorities, transport stakeholders, businesses, and the public. He cautioned against making direct comparisons with areas such as Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur, as Kota Kinabalu's urban structure and transport ecosystem are fundamentally different.
He concluded that the issue should not be seen purely as a conflict between enforcement authorities and the public but as a signal that Kota Kinabalu required more comprehensive urban mobility planning, parking management reform, and integrated transport solutions. Daniel underscored that both enforcement authorities and the public share the same objective of maintaining Kota Kinabalu as a functional, safe, economically active, and accessible city for all.